Love Song for No One
by EvenAngelsFall22
Summary: I'm so tired of being alone, so hurry up and get here..." Rory rejected Logan's proposal but can she really let go of him once and for all?
1. Too Many False Alarms

**Title: **Love Song for No One**  
>Summary: <strong>"I'm so tired of being alone, so hurry up and get here..." Rory rejected Logan's proposal but can she really let go of him once and for all? When Logan walked away, did he really mean it to be for good? A chance meeting will bring these two back together, but will it be forever? Another take on what could have happened after the series ended. Starts during _Unto the Breach _and takes off from there.  
><strong>Pairing<strong>: Logan/Rory  
><strong>Rating<strong>: M  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> Story title, chapter titles and all lyrics belong to John Mayer. Quite possibly, the most amazing man ever.  
><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Here's the deal. I've been patiently spending the last couple of months working on an actual novel, instead of fanfiction and well, it was going along pretty well. Then, Prince William married Kate Middleton, and all of a sudden my characters were speaking in British accents. I managed to get them to be American again, and then about 5,000 words later, I realized that I was unconsciously writing Rory and Logan instead. So. Here I am. With more Rory and Logan goodness, because let's face it, there really just isn't enough of it out there anymore, is there?

I started thinking… what could I write that hasn't been done a million times over? That leaves not much, so then I thought… what could I write that's been done, but make it a million times better?

Of course! Guilty pleasure writing. I don't know about where all of you live, but here in Michigan, well… it's the middle May and we still had snow up until two weeks ago. Last week there was frost and it has been raining for three days straight. We did have three days of sunshine before that and the temperature is slowly climbing into flip-flop territory, and well.. Spring Fever has hit! …Just in time for Summer.

So, guilty pleasure writing. I've taken a few of my favorite things… Writing, John Mayer songs, and Rory and Logan smut… and I've created a 12-part story that's bound to entertain us all.

I mean, really, what could be better, right?

Reviews are love! If I can dust off the writing fingers, you can click the review button! Also, just so you know, there's been whispers of a _Martinis and Mistletoe_ sequel. Just saying.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter One – Too Many False Alarms<br>**_We're going down and you can see it too  
><em>_We're going down and you know that were doomed  
><em>_My dear, we're slow dancing in a burning room ~ Slow Dancing in a Burning Room_

The apartment was blessedly silent as Rory arrived back home from what could have been her grandparents' most interesting party yet. Locking the door behind her, she stepped gingerly into the apartment, looking around to make sure she was alone. The place was empty.

"Damn it!" The desperate words echoed in the living room, bouncing off the walls and by the time the sound greeted her ears again, she couldn't even recognize her own voice. She sat down limply and pulled the jewelry box out from her purse, staring at it as though it were a ticking time bomb.

Rory had never been engaged before, but she was pretty sure rule number one was that you never refer to the ring as a ticking time bomb. She snapped the lid open and stared at the diamond nestled against black velvet. It was a lovely ring; one she would be happy to wear for the rest of her life if she could just bring herself to say yes to Logan.

Logan. Her head dropped down as she remembered the look on his face when he had gotten down on one knee. A proposal had truly never crossed her mind until she heard the words coming out of his mouth and even then, she was sure she was imagining them. She had to have been. Logan Huntzberger didn't propose to girls.

Except he did. In front of her family and their friends and she didn't even have the grace to save him from looking like a fool. She imagined they were still the talk of Emily's social circle and she knew exactly what they were saying about her. How? How could she not say yes?

There had been one split second where she thought she was going to. She had felt the words creeping up inside of her and she had almost whispered yes when out of the corner of her eye she had seen her parents, star-crossed lovers if there ever was a pair, looking at her with just the slightest hint of desperation and panic; pleading with her not to make the same mistakes they had.

Looking down at the ring again, this time she pulled it from its bed and held it in the palm of her hand. She could have said yes. Hesitantly, she slid the cool band onto her finger. She could have and really, would it have been so bad?

"_Morning."_

_Rory looked up from the baby she was trying unsuccessfully to feed. "Is it?" she asked tiredly. "I don't think I've been to bed yet."_

_"She kept you up all night again?" Logan paused at the rocking chair and kissed the top of the newborn's head. "I didn't hear a thing, you should have woken me up."_

_"I tried," she muttered. With a sigh, she set the bottle down and rose, following her husband into the kitchen. "You were dead to the world, what time did you get in last night?"_

_"Late. It was after three."_

_"What kind of meeting lasts until three in the morning?" she asked, an edge creeping into her voice._

_"The productive kind." He frowned. "Isn't there any coffee made?"_

_"You're kidding, right?"_

_"Well, you've been awake all night You said so yourself. I assumed there would be coffee made already."_

_"Well there isn't," she snapped. "I haven't been able to put her down for three seconds without her screaming so no, Logan, I haven't been able to make the damn coffee."_

_"It's fine, I can make it myself. Calm down." He turned around immediately. "I'm sorry, Ace, I didn't mean that. I know you're exhausted. Can I make you anything?"_

_She shook her head, looking down to see the baby had fallen asleep. "No, I'll get something when I can put her down." She watched as Logan moved about the kitchen. "Your mother called yesterday," she said suddenly. "We're expected for dinner Sunday night."_

_"I can't make it," he said. "Monday is our launch date, I'll be with the group all weekend trying to make sure everything goes smoothly. I'll probably be staying in the City to make things easier."_

_"The City? Again?" It was the third weekend this month he would be away._

_"Rory, you know the deal. Once this business is off the ground, then I'll be home more, you know that."_

_"What about this deal?" she asked, gesturing between herself and their daughter. "Remember us? Your wife of one year and the baby who was born three months ago? The one who isn't going to recognize you if you keep taking off for the weekend? If you're not careful, she's going to call Finn Daddy!"_

_"Nice, Or. You need to cut me some slack here."_

_"Slack? You need slack? Do you know what I need, Logan? I need my husband. I need your help, because I __don't know if you've noticed this but things are falling apart here. I can't keep on top of the housework because I can't put the baby down without her screaming at the top of her lungs and I can't cook dinner because I'm so damn tired that I use sugar instead of salt and can't tell the difference between a table and a tea spoon. I can't even make coffee in the morning because I don't even know when it's morning or night." She sighed. "What's going to happen when I go back to work, Logan?"_

_"We'll talk about it when the time comes," he said. "And until then, we'll get you some help. Emily and Shira would be thrilled to offer suggestions on help, they've been talking about it since the baby was born. I'll call mom from the car on my way to work."_

_"What about you, Logan? I need you too, unless you think Shira and Emily can find a replacement for you?"_

_"I'm all yours once this business takes off, you know that." He sighed. "Two more weeks, Rory, that's all I'm asking for. Two weeks to get this thing going and then no more weekends away from home, no more late meetings, and I promise you, we will spend so much time together, that you'll be sick of me. And my daughter will not think that Finn is her father." He looked at his watch. "I'm running late, I need to go. I'll call and check on you at lunch, okay? Okay. Bye, Ace." He was out the door before she could respond to any of it, and she sat there open-mouthed, her brain processing the same lines he had told her over and over for the last two months._

_The baby woke from her short nap and started crying again, breaking Rory from her trance and as she stared down at the tiny child in her arms, she couldn't help but wonder why she had wanted this life in the first place._

Rory blinked her eyes. In a flash, she had the ring off of her hand and back in its box. With a shake of her head she was up on her feet and moving toward her bedroom. Changing from her dress and into well-worn jeans and a tank top, she emerged a few minutes later with a can of paint and a brush. She knew she wasn't going to get any sleep anytime soon so she figured she may as well make sure that Paris got her security deposit back. Plus, she rationalized, the smell of paint fumes would help in distracting her from her thoughts and any decisions she had to make.

She was exactly twenty minutes into her project when she decided she needed a snack break. Because most of the utensils and cookware and well, food, were already packed away, she was left with her choice of dry cereal. With a shrug, she sat down and dug in. Her eyes landed on the ring box again and she reached for it, opening it with trepidation. Hesitantly, she slid the ring back onto her finger a second time, holding her hand out before her to inspect it.

It really was a pretty ring. Logan always did have good taste when it came to jewelry, and she had always known that when the time had come, she would absolutely love the ring he would pick out for her. She just hadn't known she would love it so much.

There was a knock on the door, startling her out of her daze. She jumped up, setting her cereal down and moving toward the door, opening it to find Logan standing there with a sheepish look on his face. She realized she wasn't at all surprised to see him. "Hey," she said quietly.

"Hey," he returned, not quite meeting her eyes. "I didn't know if it was okay to come, I know I said I'd give you some space, but I—"

"Come in," she said quickly, stepping aside. Truthfully, she was happy to see him. He brushed past her and she was assaulted by the smell of his cologne. Her hand found his as he passed her; her small fingers curling tightly around his larger ones. He paused mid-step and she moved into his embrace; wrapping her other arm around his neck and burying her head into his chest. Without a word he kissed her, his hand tilting her head back to meet his before moving around to tangle in her hair. In an instant he had her back pressed against the door, pinning her there with one knee wedged between her two.

For as intense as the embrace was, their kiss was the exact opposite. It was sweet; soft, as though they were afraid to break each other. His lips moved against hers with the barest hint of pressure yet she trembled against him. It was Rory who finally pushed forward, tracing her tongue to his lips, seeking entrance. Too soon, Logan pulled away but held her against the doorway, his forehead pressed to hers.

She chuckled low in her throat and ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. "Afraid I'm going to run away if you let go?"

"Yes." His muffled response was serious whereas hers had been light in tone. He kissed her soundly once more before releasing his grip. Not wanting to be too far from him, Rory pulled him over to the couch and sat with him.

"You asked me to marry you," she said softly, smiling at him.

He nodded. She reached to brush an imaginary piece of lint from his pant leg and he caught her hand in his. Seeing the ring still on her finger, he quirked an eyebrow at her.

She smiled sheepishly and twisted her hand in his so they could both see it. "I wanted to see what it would look like," she admitted. "How it would feel."

"And?" This time his eyes met hers dead on. "How does it feel?"

She sighed and looked down at their joined hands. "Right," she said finally. "It mostly feels right."

"So what's wrong? Why didn't you—" Logan sighed and shook his head. "I don't want to pressure you. I said I wasn't going to and I wasn't but…" He shrugged. "You gotta give me something, Rory."

She nodded, not looking at him. "Of course I've thought about getting married," she said. "And if I think about it, it's usually you I think about marrying."

"Usually?"

"Ryan Reynolds," she said unapologetically. He rolled his eyes and she continued on. "But… we're so young, Logan. You've been out of school a year and I'm just graduating tomorrow. Neither of us really knows where we'll be next month, let alone next year or the year after that."

"Palo Alto," he began but she cut him off.

"Isn't exactly a sure thing. And California? I don't know if I'd want to move there," she said honestly.

"So we figure it out together." Logan laced his fingers with hers. "That's what people do when they're in a relationship."

"And you know this from the exactly one relationship you've been in?" She winced as the words left her mouth and sure enough, Logan tensed beside her.

"I know enough from watching the train wreck of a relationship my parents had to know what not to do." Logan's voice was low as he spoke and she wanted to sink deeper into the cushions. "And I know that while you and your three whole relationships is far superior to my experienced, but don't sit there and try to tell me I'm not right. We could figure this out together. You know we could."

"We could," Rory agreed. "But I need to figure out me first, Logan. I don't know what I'm doing! My dream was to be a foreign correspondent, remember that? What if I still want that?"

"You can have that," Logan argued.

"Not if I have a husband and kids waiting on me at home! And what if I don't want it? What if I decide I want something completely different that I don't even know about yet? You want to tell me you're seriously going to wait around while I try and decide?"

"Are you looking for a reason not to marry me?"

"I don't want to fight," Rory said quietly. "You said we wouldn't. I told you I would have an answer for you tomorrow. I'm not saying no yet, Logan." _But I'm not saying yes either._

"You okay there?" Logan placed a hand on her leg. "You looked a million miles away all of a sudden there."

"I'm sorry," she shook her head and smiled at him. "So since you're here..." her voice trailed off and she winked at him suggestively. "I have a spackle brush with your name on it. If you can handle it." She laughed at the look he gave her and stood up, pulling him up with her. "What? You had other ideas? Sleep is for the weak, Huntzberger."

"Sleep is not what I had in mind," he groaned. She went to hand him a paintbrush and he dodged her, leaning in to kiss her instead.

The spackle was forgotten momentarily as Rory found herself getting lost in their kiss. She loved that he knew her well enough to know when she needed him to kiss her; but she also had to wonder if he was doing it because he wanted to, or because he was trying to get her to say she would marry him. She couldn't exactly blame him if that were the case, and while she didn't want to stop him, she couldn't help but feel guilty.

Reluctantly, she pulled away. "I really don't want Paris to take me to small claims court," she said half-seriously with a smile in her eyes. It worked, and Logan just shook his head as he picked up the previously offered paintbrush. "Lead the way, my putty queen."

"Well there's a nickname I could do without." For the next thirty minutes they worked companionably, sharing random bits of stories, ranging from childhood antics like the time Lorelai let Rory paint her bedroom any color she wanted (it stayed lime green for three whole weeks before Lorelai changed it while she was at school, claiming the color would make them go blind) to more current ones, such as when Logan, Colin and Finn accidentally ended up having to pay for the repainting Finn's father's boat after a mishap off the coast of Santorini. For the most part, their conversation was easy and light, but there was still an underlying bit of tension between the two of them that Rory wasn't able to shake.

"Oh come on, you missed a spot!" Logan chided her easily as he gestured to the small hole in the wall. "How is Paris going to get her deposit back if you keep missing spots?"

"I"m still working on this one!" she protested, raising her brush to the wall again. She stuck her tongue out at him as he rolled his eyes at her. "What? I'm not working fast enough for you? Fine, fix it yourself then."

"I'm on it." He reached around her back and started working on the aforementioned hole. As he worked, he moved closer until he had her trapped between him and the wall, one hand braced casually against the wall as he continued to reach around her to paint.

"Really?" she asked, craning her head back to look at him. "How am I supposed to work like this?"

Logan shrugged. "You're almost a Yale graduate, I'm sure you can figure it out." He stepped closer and his breath tickled the back of her neck. He wouldn't look directly at her, focusing on the wall instead. His free hand dropped to the small of her back and slid around to her stomach.

She turned around slowly until she was facing him and raised an eyebrow at the smirk on his face. "I'm almost done with this hole, hang on one minute," he said as he stepped closer, still working on the wall. She crossed her arms against her chest between them and waited patiently as he continued working. "Almost done, just a couple of more edges to clean up." Logan pressed even closer, pushing her back to the wall as he did so. Her arms began to uncross and her hands found their way to the soft cotton of his t-shirt, trailing lightly across his chest. She raised one hand to his face and turned his chin until he was finally looking at her. "I'm busy here, Ace."

"I know," she said seriously, nodding at him. "And you're doing a very good job." She leaned forward and pecked at his lips lightly. He didn't say anything as he stepped even closer to her. Her fingers crawled up and down his chest. "Logan?"

"Yes, Ace?"

It was an unseasonably warm night and with the windows open and the air conditioner turned off, the climate in the living room was balmy. Rory was suddenly too warm, Logan was too close, and she felt her head begin to swim. She leaned forward and kissed him again, her lips lingering this time against his, teasing at him until she felt him begin to respond. "Put the paintbrush down, Logan," she whispered, pulling him to her by the fabric of his shirt. Now she couldn't get him close enough. "Please."

The paintbrush dropped to the floor and Logan's full attention was on her again. She smiled into his mouth as he ran a hand slowly down her side, bringing her leg up around his as he pinned her to the wall. Her eyes closed as they kissed, but not before she caught sight of the diamond on her finger flashing through the darkened room. She pushed the image out of her mind as fast as she could and worked to rid Logan's body of his shirt. He responded in turn, her shirt soon meeting his in a pile on the floor.

"Paris," he mumbled, nipping at her collarbone.

"Rory," she corrected breathlessly. He pulled back and glared at her.

"I meant, is she home? We're in the living room and I don't really need her walking in on us again and-"

"She's out with Doyle," Rory said quickly, kissing him again. She knew if she had time to think, she'd pull away completely. "Won't be back til morning." Her hands fell to his belt and quickly set to work. "Living room is ours."

"Good." Their clothes fell off seamlessly; years of practice making it seem like an effortless dance as Logan finally pulled her from the wall with the intent of moving them to the more comfortable spot of the couch again. She tripped over his feet and they stumbled into a pile of boxes but they didn't stop or break away from each other. "Couch," Logan instructed her, hoping to keep them from knocking over the stack of precariously stacked books that he could see out of the corner of his eye. He groaned as Rory's hand dipped down to stroke him lightly.

"Too far," she whispered. "Here." She tried unsuccessfully to pull him down to the floor with her but he stayed standing. Finally, she opened her eyes and he could see the frustration evident in her gaze. "_Logan."_

"What are we doing?" he asked, momentarily coming to his senses. "We need to sto-"

"Logan." Her tone was sharp and he looked at her in surprise. "Please don't stop. I want this, you... I need..." She sighed helplessly and shook her head. "Don't stop, please," she whispered again, kissing him. He didn't hesitate in kissing her back, and finally, he lowered her to the floor. She stretched out beneath him, savoring his weight against her as their legs tangled together. Her eyes fluttered as his mouth moved lower, the slight stubble on his chin scraping against her skin as he did. Her fingers twisted in his hair as he traced shapes onto the smooth skin of her stomach. He began to kiss lower and she tugged at his hair, trying to bring him back up. She didn't want foreplay, she wanted him.

He resisted, reaching up and bringing her hand back down to the floor, holding it there. There were times when he was more than happy to let Rory take the lead but tonight was not one of them. He was aware that they were both acting out under the given circumstances, and while there were things beyond his control that night, this was not going to be one of them. Rory's reluctance faded quickly as his mouth closed around her and she sighed appreciatively. As much as she wanted him right now, she had to admit that she was grateful he was taking the initiative and for a few moments, she could just let herself be lost in the moment. Logan's hands and mouth worked wonders against her and she voiced her appreciation softly, but desperately she needed more.

Logan, however, wasn't in the mood to rush things and he continued to work her over at his own pace. He took the time to remember every last detail about her, from the scent of her flushed skin, her taste, to the sound of her pleas in his ear. It wasn't so much as he was saying goodbye to her, but they both knew in the back of their minds that there was a chance this could be their last time together.

And if that was the case, Logan would be damned if it ended all too soon. He felt Rory's fingers tighten in his hair, saw the rapid rise and fall of her chest as her breathing became shallow. A few more seconds and her entire body would start to tremble. He waited for it, waited for that last sign before letting go completely and pulling away from her.

The loss of contact shocked Rory back to her senses and she propped herself up on her elbows and pouted at him. "Mean!" she hissed, brushing a damp strand of hair out of her bright eyes. He took one long look at her laying there before him before crawling back up, settling himself comfortably above her. She sighed, a mixture of relief and contentment washing over her as she felt him pressing at her core and dropped back as he collapsed her elbows beneath them. "Not so mean," she amended as he brought his mouth down to hers, at the same time, finally pushing slowly into her.

He took her slowly, carefully, keeping painstakingly slow pace that nearly killed the both of them as she begged him to go harder, to go faster. Eventually her pleas quieted and they both savored the feel of each other, the slow movements that were so smooth, so fluid that Rory couldn't tell where he ended and she began. Still, too soon they both felt the familiar tensions building within and Rory was the first to break, with Logan only seconds behind her.

Staring up into the dark eyes that looked down at her, Rory couldn't imagine ever being without him.

_Rory felt someone staring at her and rolled over, opening one eye to see her four year old staring at her seriously. "Good morning," she whispered._

_"Good morning." The little girl didn't wait for permission before climbing into the big bed and under the covers with Rory. She snuggled in and Rory looked back over her shoulder and saw that Logan was already out of bed, unusual for a Sunday morning. "Where's your daddy?"_

_"I'm right here, with coffee," Logan announced from the doorway where he stood with a tray of coffee and the newspaper. "Guess who's article made the front page today? Above the fold, no less."_

_"Really?" She sat up and reached for the paper and her cup of coffee. "Huh, you were right, marrying a newspaper kingpin definitely has its perks," she teased as she saw for herself that her article was on the front page. She took a sip of the coffee as Logan crawled back into the bed with the two of them and she settled comfortably into his side, their daughter climbing between the two of them. "You make really good coffee, too" she noted._

_"Only the best for my girl." Logan nodded at the paper and then smiled at her. "It's good. Not that I would expect anything less than great from you, but for your coming out of mommy retirement article, it's amazing, Ace, it really is." He leaned over to kiss her. His lips lingered over hers and she was reluctantly to pull away._

_"Little eyes," she reminded him, looking down at their daughter who had already turned the television on and had found cartoons to watch._

_"We really need to start making her stay in her room on Sunday mornings," he groaned, dropping his head to Rory's shoulder. Even as he spoke, his hand moved to tangle in the blonde curls on the little girls' head and Rory knew they would be holding on to their Sunday morning tradition for as long as they could._

_"We still have Saturday nights," she said lightly, lacing her hand with his. "And every other night after she goes to bed." In their five years of marriage, the one thing Logan and Rory had never tired of was each other. It always made her smile, knowing that it was just as important to Logan as it was to her that they showed each other as much as possible just how much they still loved each other._

_"It's not enough Ace," he said seriously, leaning in to kiss her again. "It's never enough."_

_She batted his hands away as they began to creep up her top. "I bet Shira would take her for the night after dinner if we asked," she mused out loud. She laughed as Logan groaned. "What?"_

_"Dinner there again? Weren't we there last weekend?"_

_"Guess we may as well call it tradition," Rory teased. It was a standard joke between them; they both knew full well they were expected at the Huntzbergers' every Sunday night for dinner, and had been for the last five years._

_"Ugh, tradition." Logan sighed. "But if you think Mom will take her for the night...I may just whisk you away to New York for the night to celebrate your going back to work. What do you think about that?"_

_Rory raised an eyebrow at him. "On a Sunday night? What about work tomorrow?"_

_He shrugged. "I can skip a day. God knows I worked enough this week. What do you say, Ace? I don't know about you, but I'd say we're due some completely alone time, don't you?"_

_"If we leave her with Shira, you know she's going to come back to us a proper young lady again."_

_Logan shrugged. "In two days we'll have her eating pop-tarts and wearing tennis shoes again, I'm not worried. She's too young for debutante balls, there isn't much damage mom can do."_

_"Famous last words." She laughed and curled back into Logan's side. "Let's do it," she agreed. The three of them snuggled up close and watched the end of the cartoon, knowing they would have to get up soon. Looking back and forth between her husband and child, Rory couldn't imagine any other place she'd rather be._

"Where are you going?" she asked sleepily as Logan began to untangle his legs from hers.

"Bed," he said, trying to get her to sit up. "We're not sleeping on the floor, I don't care how comfortable you claim it is."

"Yeah, it's really not at all, is it?" She agreed as she resisted his tugging. "I don't want to move," she whined.

"Rory, you're not sleeping on the floor." Logan laughed as she rolled away from him and he pulled her back, hooking his arms under her legs. "I'll carry you," he threatened.

"You'll hurt yourself," she protested as he picked her up from the floor. "Logan, stop!" They were both laughing as he carried her into the bedroom. For a moment she thought he was going to drop her on the bed, and smiled when he set her down gently against the pillows. He moved to stand up but she kept her arms around his neck and pulled him down with her. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I was going to turn the lights off in the other room," he started to explain but Rory cut him off.

"Leave them. Stay." She pulled the covers over them and snuggled deeper into his chest. "Good thing I slack when it comes to packing and this is all still here." They settled in comfortably and quietly. "I love you," she said suddenly, looking up at him. "I know you know that, but I just wanted to say it again. I really love you."

"I love you too, Rory." His arms tightened around her and he cupped the back of her head against his chest. "Get some sleep, you've got a big day tomorrow, you know."

"I know."

"Hey." Logan's voice broke through the silence once more, her eyes popping open again at the sound.

"Hmm?"

"I just wanted you to know that that ring looks perfect on you. Just like I knew it would."

Rory looked back down at her hand, the diamond still gleaming in the moonlight. "Yeah, it does," she agreed softly, chewing on her lower lip. He was right, the ring did fit perfectly on her hand.

She woke the next morning to an empty bed and the sound of coffee brewing coming from the kitchen. "Hey," she said, smiling at him from the doorway. "What's going on in here?"

"Hey, good morning Graduate!" Logan grinned as he handed her a cup of coffee. "How did you sleep? Ready for the big day?" He pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

"Thank you. I slept well enough." She hadn't fallen asleep until about two hours ago and they both knew it. Somewhere in the middle of the night she had woken him up with her tossing and turning and he had done his best to soothe her; taking careful measures to not mention what they both were struggling with. Finally, she had fallen into a fitful sleep and then it was Logan who was wide awake, left to stare at his sleeping girlfriend, desperately wondering what answer she was going to give him.

"Good." Logan stared at her for a moment. "I have some things to take care of before the ceremony so I'll be out of your way in a few minutes so you can get ready."

She nodded. All of a sudden the tension in the room was more than she wanted to deal with. "Okay, I'll look for you after commencement." She saw him staring at her hand and she looked down, twisting the ring that felt as though it was always there. "I..." She sighed. "I don' t have an answer yet," she admitted quietly. She couldn't ignore the defeated look in Logan's eyes. "That doesn't mean no," she reminded him quickly.

"I know." He stared at her for another moment before putting his own cup down. "Okay, I need to go and you need to jump in the shower." He gestured to her shoulder. "Looks like spackle. Wonder how that happened?"

"It's a mystery," she agreed with a small smile. "So... I'll see you in a couple of hours?"

"I'll be there," he promised. They both stepped forward at the same time and into each others' arms. "I love you," he said, leaning in to kiss her. "So much." He kissed her again, and she could feel tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.

"I love you too." Reluctantly she let go and gave a little wave as he left. Then she stood there, staring into her cup of coffee and wondering just what in the hell she was going to do now.

_"Good morning."_

_"Morning." Logan pressed an absentminded kiss to the side of her head as he passed by her. "Coffee?"_

_"There always is." She handed him a cup prepared just how he liked it and they sat down at opposite sides of the table, the morning paper already divided to their preferences. "Oh, just to remind you, the coming out ball is two weeks from Friday."_

_"Debutante ball." Logan snorted. "Why are we making her do this again?"_

_"Emily and Shira." Rory paused. "It's not so bad. I didn't mind mine, really."_

_"I've done my share of escorting. Drunk off of my ass nearly every single time."_

_"Never as a proud father," she pointed out. "But I'm not surprised. No drinking this time around, please."_

_"No promises." He smirked at the look she gave him. "Oh Rory, you know I promise to be on my very best Dad behavior."_

_"Mmhmm." She went back to reading the paper, not looking up again until Logan folded his section and stood up. "Leaving so early?"_

_"Eight AM meeting and going straight through until dinner." He looked up guiltily. "We didn't have plans tonight, did we?"_

_She shook her head. "No plans, but it's a shame you'll miss dinner. I was so planning on wearing that little red number you picked up for me on your last trip to New York," she said airily._

_"Hmm, I'm sure our daughter is going to love that." He dropped down to his knees next to Rory's chair. "There will be no wearing that outfit until I am home to fully appreciate it on you. And off you." She nodded her agreement as he leaned forward and kissed her. "I promise we'll spend the weekend alone together, okay?"_

_"Can't," she said sadly. "DAR fundraiser on Saturday, I'm going to be needed for set-up all day. Which reminds me, you'll need your gray suit dry-cleaned for this one."_

_"Can't wait," he said sarcastically. "Kidding. Those women would be lost without you, my dear." He stood back up and left the room as she turned back to her paper. She was surprised when he came back in, coffee pot in hand._

_"I thought you were leaving?" she asked as he refilled her coffee mug._

_"I am," he said. "But you clearly needed a warm-up." He winked and set the pot down on the table next to her. "Have a great day, Ace." He kissed her cheek and was out the door._

_Rory stared after him for a second before her eyes drifted to the clock and she saw that it was getting late. Taking a long drink from her mug she pushed her chair back from the table and called up the stairs for her daughter to wake up. Her brief encounter with Logan was soon forgotten as her mind ran through the list of things she needed to do today. Not only did she have a 5 o'clock deadline on an article, but there were countless phone calls to be made for the fundraiser, she had lunch plans with her mother and there was a final dress fitting for the debutante ball. She sighed as she remembered she needed to call Shira about postponing Sunday Night Dinner and looking at her watch, called up the stairs for her daughter again. She was about to call a third time when her cell phone rang and she looked at it with trepidation; knowing that once she answered it, it was going to be evening before she would be able to put the phone down. She was surprised to see that it wasn't a phone call, but rather a text from Logan._

_"Forgot to tell you that you looked beautiful this morning and that I love you. Have a great day and don't forget your deadline."_

_Her mouth lifted in a small smile and she was about to text him back when her phone rang for real this time. Logan would have to wait for the time being, but she knew that he would understand. It wasn't the first time real life would get in the way of Rory and Logan and it sure wasn't going to be the last._

Rory gave herself a final once-over in the mirror, ensuring her dress wasn't wrinkled and her hair evenly curled. She couldn't waste any more time, she was due to meet her family on campus in minutes. The graduation festivities would be starting before she knew it, and then she knew she would have to give her answer to Logan.

Logan. She sighed and looked down again at the ring that she was still wearing. It was a perfect fit and she knew she could get used to seeing it on her finger if she let herself. She stared at it for a long second before taking a deep breath and sliding the ring off, putting it safely back into its box. Her hand immediately felt lighter and as soon as the box snapped shut she almost opened it back up to put the ring back on her finger.

Instead, she slid the jewelry box into her purse for safekeeping and with a shaky breath she was out the door. She hadn't known until this exact moment how she was going to answer Logan's proposal but now that she did, she knew there was no other answer she could give him.

She only prayed that she didn't regret it later.

* * *

><p><em>"Logan, I'm sorry... I can't. I love you. You know how much I love you. I love the idea of being married to you...but...there are just a lot of things right now in my life that are undecided. And that used to scare me, but now I—I kind of like the idea that... it's just all kind off... wide open. And if I married you, it just wouldn't be."<em>

_"So what? I go to San Francisco, you stay on the east and we just see each other occasionally?"_

_"Well we can try long distance. We've done it before."_

_"You really think that's gonna work?"_

_"I think it would be hard, but..."_

_"I don't want to do that, Rory. I don't want to go backwards. If we can't take the next step..."_

_"What?"_

_"I mean..."_

_"Does it have to be all or nothing?"_

_"Yeah, it does."_

_"But we could at least try."_

_"What's the point?"_

_"So..."_

_"So... goodbye, Rory."_


	2. Captain Backfire

**Author's Note**: Aww, I'm happy to see that story is being so well-received! Hopefully it lives up to your expectations. Some clarification on the last chapter; the final scene (the scene from the episode) happened as is. I know it was in italics the same way the scenes from Rory's imagination were, but alas, the break-up happened just as it did on the show. So sorry for the confusion!

Now, onto this chapter. We jump around a bit and cover a lot of time, so hopefully it's not too confusing to read. Enjoy!

As always, thank you for reading, and I welcome any and all feedback!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2 – Captain Backfire<br>**_And I could see clearly, an indelible line was drawn  
><em>_between what was good, what just slipped out  
><em>_and what went wrong ~ My Stupid Mouth_

The hotel room was silent, save for the sound of limbs sliding back into clothing. She was standing in front of the mirror brushing out her hair and out of the corner of her eye she spied him struggling and smiled. She beckoned at his reflection.

"You still don't know how to tie that thing?" she asked, gesturing to the silk blue tie in his hands. "Come here." She stepped closer, taking the tie from him. "You wear a tie every single day, how is that you never learned to tie one?"

"Always have someone around to do it for me." Her hands stilled and he cursed his mouth, forgetting who he was with. "Rory, I-"

She worked past the urge to choke him and finished the tie. "All set!" she said brightly albeit shakily.

"Rory..."

"Logan, it's fine," she said hastily. "I'd expect that you do, but that doesn't mean I want to hear about it." She shrugged. "It is what it is. We are what we are."

"And what are we?" Logan challenged. She turned away from him without answering, desperate to ignore his question. Instead she said she was going to jump in the shower and locked herself in the bathroom before he could stop her.

It had been a year and half since their breakup. Six months after that was the first time they had seen each other since that day and ever since then, they had been stuck in a vicious cycle of randomly running into each other and falling into bed, though neither had made any real attempt to stop it. Friends with benefits, fuck-buddies, desperate exes; whatever you wanted to call it, that was them. As she stood under the hot spray, it was all Rory could do not to scream as her thoughts went back to that first night nearly one year ago.

* * *

><p>It had taken Rory all of six weeks to know she was not cut out for life on a bus. She had tried, she really did, but in truth she had yearned for something more stable, something less political, something more... well, anything that wasn't on a bus. And really, she would have stuck it out if she hadn't found out during the second week of travel just how easily she had gotten motion sickness.<p>

Her co-workers had teased her relentlessly, insisting it wasn't motion sickness but rather, morning sickness. It was all she could do to laugh off their suspicions, to not give them anything else to gossip about. And then that stupid blonde Cameron Diaz lookalike had found out about her failed relationship with Logan and before she knew it, she was a Blind Item on Page Six. W_hich debutante-lite is carrying the child of her ex-boyfriend, an up-and-coming social media mogul? _It was all so ridiculous that Rory quit right then and there and moved back home, intent on waiting until the gossip blew over before finding another job. The gossip had never really died down completely and eventually she ended up in New York City. By then, she had grown weary of the printed word and with no explanation she could think of other than sheer luck, she found herself co-hosting the early early morning show on a local cable channel. How very Robin Scherbatsky of her, indeed.

It was there in New York that Logan had tracked her down. Showed up on the doorstep of her Fifth Avenue apartment (okay, so it was her grandparents), demanding to know if she was in fact, pregnant.

She crossed her arms over her stomach and glared at him, immediately wondering if he was really there. "Oh you cannot be serious!" she said incredulously. "You honestly think that I'm pregnant?"

"Are you?" he asked. He pushed past her and into the apartment.

"How did you even find me?"

"Are you hiding?"

"No!" She sighed and followed him into her living room. "I didn't know you were such a fan of idle gossip."

"I am when it involves my girlfriend."

"I'm not your girlfriend," she snapped. "You broke up with me, remember?"

"Damn it, Rory! Are you pregnant?"

"Oh, of course I'm not!" she exploded. "Do you honestly think that if I was that I wouldn't have told you?" She bristled at his silence. "Nice, Logan. Real nice to know what you actually think about me."

He hung his head, having the decency to look chastised. "The blind item..."

She snorted. "Because those are always one hundred percent gospel truth? You know better than that Logan. You should know me better than that."

"Should I?" he challenged. "Because when you turned me down, you proved that I really didn't know you at all."

"You son of a bi-" She caught herself and shook her head. "You want proof?" she asked, stepping toe to toe with him. "You really think I would actually hide a pregnancy from you?" Before she could stop herself her hands were at the hem of her t-shirt, lifting the thin cotton up and over her head.

"There," she spit out, tossing the shirt to the side. She grabbed his hand and pressed it against her flat, very non-pregnant stomach. "Does that feel like I'm pregnant?" she asked, ignoring how his fingers scorched her skin. "Does it? I should be about six months along and would definitely be showing if I was."

All of a sudden, she realized she was standing there in just a pair of yoga pants and her bra and she was still holding Logan's hand to her stomach. She couldn't let go. "Well?" she asked again, suddenly feeling tears prick at her eyes. "Damn you," she whispered. "You know I'd never lie to you about this! You know I wouldn't keep something like that from you. You know I wouldn't." The tears were falling now and still Logan said nothing. "Six months!" she cried. "I don't see or hear from you in six months and then you dare show up on my doorstep out of the blue because of some stupid rumor you know damn well couldn't be true? Six months!" She laughed bitterly, wiping at her tears with her free hand. "Fuck you, Logan. Seriously, fuck you." Finally, she dropped his hand and tried to turn away but he stopped her, grabbing her elbow.

"I wanted to see you," he admitted. "I knew where you were and I wanted to come but I had absolutely zero reason to. I wasn't going to just show up and hope for the best, and then Honor showed me the blind item and damn it, Rory, I didn't care if was true or not, it was my way in!" He forced her to look at him. "Of course I know it's not true, but I... if it had been true I would have..."

"I'm not pregnant," she said icily, yanking her arm from his grip. She moved to the couch and bent to pick up her t-shirt. She gave a short cry of protest when he grabbed the shirt from her hands and pulled her back to him. "What do you think you're-" She was cut off as his mouth crashed against hers and immediately, she was kissing him back.

They both battled for dominance, each pushing at each other trying to get the upper hand. The buttons from his shirt scattered across the hardwood floor and he ripped her lace bra clear down the center. He pushed her out into the hallway, stumbling when he realized he didn't know where to go from there. She tried to guide him toward her bedroom but he wasn't having any of that. They collided with an end table, sending a lamp crashing them to the floor and they broke apart momentarily.

"Leave it," Rory gasped before throwing herself at him again. There in the hallway just outside of her room she undid his belt, pushing his pants down to his ankles. He kicked them the rest of the way off, never once moving his mouth from hers. It was then that she realized her own pajama bottoms had been yanked off somewhere between the living room and here. She gasped as he grabbed her hips and lifted her up, her legs falling around his waist as he pushed her up against the wall. He slid her down until he was just inside of her but she pushed off from the wall, sending them again stumbling through the hallway until finally, he found her bedroom.

The second her back hit the mattress she reacted again, expertly flipping them over so that she was on top, straddling his torso. He groaned as he felt the heat of her closing around him and he was content to let her ride him for the next couple of minutes. Opening his eyes, he saw that tears were still falling down her cheeks and for a moment he felt the utter disdain for his actions, knowing he was the reason she was crying. Then he remembered the pain she had put him through and before he could stop himself, he had her again on her back and was pounding into her with such frenzy that he wondered for a moment if he was hurting her.

She brought her lips to his chest, raining wet kisses over the long scratches her nails had left. The heel of her foot dug into his ass as she tried to pull him in deeper still. His hand knotted in the hair at the nape of her neck and he tugged, not harshly, forcing her body to arch into his as he fastened his mouth to hers once more.

She came completely undone minutes later; her nails digging into his shoulders as his mouth swallowed her cries. Feeling her trembling around him was the last push he needed and too soon, he felt himself falling over the edge.

They lay there in silence for impossibly long moments as both tried to fully comprehend what had just happened. Using the little energy he had to roll off of her and onto his side, Logan looked down at Rory and raised his thumb to first run over her tear-stained cheeks then her bruised and swollen lips. "Rory," he began, but she shook her head.

"Don't," she said quietly, turning her head to the side. She rolled over onto her side and pressed her back into his chest. His arms went around her middle and she laced her fingers with his. He pressed his mouth to the top of her head and again, she felt herself blinking back tears. "Promise me something?"

"What?"

"You'll be gone before I wake up." It was a statement, not a question and her words cut him like a knife.

"Rory, I-"

"Please," she said softly. Her grip tightened on his hands and she tangled her legs with his. For tonight she was content to just feel him wrapped around her once more but she knew neither of them could handle the morning if he stayed.

And even though he promised, she was surprised and saddened to wake up alone in her bed the next morning. No trace of their tryst to be found save for the shattered lamp in the hallway and the bruises on her thighs.

The second time they met was purely by accident. A crowded airport in Michigan in the middle of a bomb scare. Knowing she wasn't getting on a plane anytime soon, Rory had wandered into the airport bar. As if pulled by some unseen force, her eyes landed on the back of his head. Immediately she knew it was him and she sauntered over, sliding into his booth. "Well now, this is just freaky."

He looked up from his computer and smiled. "Hey Ace. What brings you to Detroit, Michigan?"

"I was in Chicago," she explained. "Olivia had her first big gallery showing so I went for support." She shrugged. "Now I'm stuck here."

"Stuck here with me, so that makes you lucky," Logan pointed out. Even now, he couldn't help but flirt with her. "I was in Ohio, business as always. Can I buy you a drink? You look a little rattled."

"Well its not every day I find out there could be a bomb on my plane," she said lightly. It wasn't the only reason she was rattled. She hadn't seen Logan since the night he had shown up at her apartment and she wasn't exactly sure how she should be acting around him.

"I hear you, it wasn't my favorite sentence I'd ever heard a pilot say either." Logan ordered them each a drink from a passing waitress and then closed his computer. He looked at her for a long time. "You look good, Rory."

"Thanks. You do too." He really did. His hair was cut shorter than she remembered, and his skin was definitely bronzed. She leaned forward and squinted. "Is that… Do you have highlights?"

Logan laughed. "I spend a lot of time outside in the sun," he said with a roll of his eyes. "What can I say, California is a good place for me."

"Good." She smiled again as an awkward silence settled over their table.

Abruptly, Logan reached over and touched her hand. She looked up in surprise and raised an eyebrow at him. "So about my showing up in New York like I did," he began slowly. "I never did get a chance to apologize for that."

She lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug. "There's really nothing to apolog—"

"I stormed your apartment and accused you of being pregnant. Yeah Rory, I do need to apologize for that." He shook his head. "I don't know what I was thinking. I really am sorry."

"It's okay," she said quietly. "Honestly, I was really glad to see you." Her cheeks tinged pink. "I mean, I would have been okay without the bruising and I really liked that lamp that broke, but other than that, I was happy to see you." Her eyes met his.

He undid the top three buttons of his shirt and showed her the faint line left by her doing. "I walked away with a couple of scars too," he teased. "And I'll gladly buy you another lamp if you'd like."

She laughed. "I already replaced it." She fought every urge to reach over the table and trace the line on his chest. With her tongue. "I'm sorry about that," she said finally with a nod toward him.

"I'm not." He winked just as their drinks were set down before them. "So what's new?" he asked after they had both taken sips. He leaned back in his chair. "Tell me everything, Ace, don't leave anything out." She felt his foot brush against hers underneath the table and tried her best to ignore it. Instead, she filled him in on her job and how she was adjusting to New York City. In turn, he told her about San Francisco and yes, he rented the house with the avocado tree but as it turned out, he couldn't make guacamole to save his life. His father still wanted him back working for him, but so far, he was much happier where he was at.

Their conversation was interrupted by an announcement over the loudspeaker, informing everyone that all flights were grounded until morning. She watched as Logan finished the rest of his drink and began packing up his things.

"What's your big plan?" she asked, watching him as he moved.

He shrugged. "Getting some dinner, getting a hotel for the night. Nothing outrageous." He paused and held his hand out to her. "Are you coming?"

It took her two seconds to decide, sliding her hand into his. He helped her up from the table and grabbed her carry-on bag. "Lead the way."

His mouth was on hers the second the town car pulled away from the corner. She knew she should stop it but she couldn't. She really didn't want to.

"So we're skipping dinner, right?" Logan asked as his mouth dragged across collarbone.

"Right," she agreed breathlessly, her hands working at the buttons of his shirt, desperate to feel his skin on hers.

From that moment on, they were each painfully aware that there was no turning back. There was no letting go. They never actively sought each other out, but somewhere along the way their Outlook calendars had been synced and more often than not, business trips coincided with each other.

And each time, Rory swore it was going to be the last.

* * *

><p>"Rory?" He asked her again as she came out of the bathroom fresh from her shower. "What are we?"<p>

She walked over and placed her hand against his cheek. "Years ago, who would have thought that the almighty Logan Huntzberger would be so relationship needy?" she teased lightly, removing her hand and giving his cheek a quick kiss. She moved past him to get dressed but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She sighed. "We're lonely," she said finally. "And somehow, we keep ending up being lonely in the same place at the same time." She tilted her head to the side. "I really don't want to question it or look too deeply at it."

"Who would have thought years ago that you wouldn't mind working without a net," he shot back. "I still want this, Rory," he said, his voice rising with frustration. "I still want you."

"And I'm still not ready for marriage," she said bluntly. "And you don't want me as I am, so here we are." She swept her arm around the hotel room. "This is what we are."

"You know I'm not going to wait forever for you?"

She smiled sadly. "That's why I'm not asking you to. The minute this isn't enough for you Logan, then you tell me and it'll be over. I promise."

"This is never going to be enough," he pointed out. "And you know it's not for you either."

"I know," she said, turning her back to him so he could zip up her dress. "But it's all I can give you right now."

He zipped her into her dress slowly and then pulled her body to his and they stood there quietly for a moment. "I love you."

"I love you too." She knew he was wanting more of an answer from her, some big declaration of wanting to be with him forever, but she just couldn't do it. She never could.

The truth was that Rory did want everything that Logan still wanted, and she was almost completely sure she wanted it with him. Sure enough that she knew she could say yes if he asked her to marry him again, but the fear of the unknown absolutely paralyzed her. She still didn't know if she could trust that Logan would be the husband she wanted for herself or worse yet, if she could be the wife he needed. She wasn't sure she could bear the disappointment of finding out they couldn't make it work so she still held him at arms length, even though it killed her every time they said good-bye again.

She moved out of his grasp and began the search for her shoes. "I think we're at the point of the morning where you tell me we shouldn't do this anymore."

Logan shook his head. "You really can be a bitch."

She sighed again. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be, I just…" she shrugged helplessly. "I don't know what else to do. Maybe we should stop this. I know a handful of nights spent together over the last year were not exactly what you wanted."

He nodded. "Maybe you're right," he agreed. He ran his hand through his hair. "So, is this it?"

"It might be." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I wish I could be what you wanted," she said softly.

"I do too." They held each others gaze for another moment before Logan cleared his throat and picked his coat up off the chair. He always left first, she noted out of the blue. It was as if he was always reminding her that he walked away from her. "Take care, Rory."

"Bye Logan." She watched as the door clicked softly behind him and then looked down at her hands. After a moment she took a deep breath and finished getting dressed. They did this each time they saw each other. Each time was the absolute last they would ever meet like this and she held no more stock in this declaration than she did the past three. No, she thought to herself as she fastened her earrings and took one final glance around the room. This wasn't the last time; they would see each other again. It was just going to be a matter of who sought whom out first.

* * *

><p>It was five months before their paths crossed again, and as it usually was, it was purely by chance.<p>

In her new career, Rory had made hundreds of contacts throughout the country, and many of them she considered to be fairly good friends. So when Violet Parker, co-anchor of Rise and Shine San Francisco married the show's weatherman, Andy Maccio, she had accepted the invitation to the wedding without a second thought. Yes, she was aware that going to San Francisco was setting herself up for trouble, but she was intent on not making a big deal about it. She doubted he would be at the wedding, and if she didn't contact him he would never even know she had been there until the pictures came out and by then, she would be safely back in New York. It was a foolproof plan. At least, it would have been if Andy and Logan hadn't known each other from playing golf and Logan hadn't scored his own invitation to the wedding.

She had seen him during the ceremony and had to cover her mouth from cursing out loud. Of course he was here. Of course he was. Fate had intervened once again. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably and on cue, he turned and spotted her. They acknowledged each other with a slight nod of the head and then both turned their attention back to the ceremony, though neither paid much attention after that.

He didn't attempt to approach her until just after dinner when she was standing with a group of colleagues. She caught his eye and smiled as he walked over. Finishing up the story she had been in the middle of, she placed her hand on Logan's arm and turned to the group, rightfully assuming that introductions weren't needed. Everyone knew who Logan was. Greetings were made all around and she stepped off to the side with him.

"I didn't expect to see you here," she said, leaning in to kiss his cheek. "How have you been, Logan?"

"I've been good," he said with a nod. "You look stunning," he added honestly. And she did, but he always did love her in the color blue. "Where's your date?" he asked, craning his head around. "I'd love to meet the guy."

She laughed. "If I had brought a date, trust me, you are the last person he'd be meeting." She raised an eyebrow. "Though I'd love to share stories with yours."

He shrugged. "I happen to be flying solo tonight too, how about that?"

"Of course you are." She took a sip from her champagne glass and looked around. "I'm sure we could find you some company if you'd like?"

"Thanks, but I think I can do just fine on my own." His hand fell to the small of her back without either of them giving it a second thought and they stepped back into the group, with Logan joining right in to the conversation. For the next hour, they remained at each others side, and while Rory could admit that it was nice to have a truly familiar presence nearby, her head was screaming at her that this would end very badly if she wasn't careful.

She excused herself for a moment when Logan was talking with one of her co-workers. A financial analyst, Josh Smeade was not one of her favorite people, as she was constantly fending off his advances and pointed comments. She let Logan know she was off to chat with the bride and she walked away, avoiding the look Josh gave her.

"Gilmore's looking good tonight," he commented to Logan once she was out of earshot. "Hot."

"She is," he agreed warily. He didn't like the look in Josh's eye and took a drink from his glass, trying to shake it.

"She's always hot though. You would think getting up at 5 every morning, she'd come into the studio looking rough, but she doesn't, she always looks so damn fuckable."

"Does she?" Logan grit his teeth.

Josh laughed. "What am I talking about, of course you know all of this already. You two used to date, didn't you? I'm pretty sure that I heard you two were what… college sweethearts?"

"Something like that."

"Isn't that sweet. You must kick yourself for letting her get away." Josh took a drink from his own glass. "Of course you do. Ever catch our show when you're on the east coast? Let me tell you, ever since she took over the morning chair." He shook his head. "Let's just say I'm not the only guy in the studio who thinks about bending her over that anchor desk and—" He was cut off as Logan grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"Enough," he hissed, his eyes growing dark.

"You boys playing nice over here?" Rory asked, sliding back over to them. She had seen the look on Logan's face a few moments ago and could only imagine what was about to happen. She placed a hand on Logan's back and waited for him to let go of Josh. "Logan, I don't mean to pull you away but there's someone here I'd like you to meet, I think you'll have a lot in common." She smiled at Josh. "We'll be back."

"Just what the hell was that about?" she asked when they were a safe distance away. "You looked like you were about to punch the guy."

"I was going to punch the guy," Logan confirmed. "That guy's an ass, Rory."

"I know he is," she agreed. "I can't stand him, but what did you two get into?"

"He was talking shit about you, Rory. Demeaning you, and I don't care what—"

"Wait a minute," she interrupted holding up her hand. "This was about me?" She sighed. "Logan…"

"What? I'm not going to stand there and listen to some guy talk about you like that!"

"What does it matter to you what he says?" she asked. "We're not together anymore, and I don't know if this is surprising to you Logan, but other men have happened to find me attractive before, not just you."

"Oh believe me, I know. I've seen the fan pages."

She flushed. "You have no right to be jealous, Logan."

"I have every right!" he exploded.

"No," she snapped. "You don't. You lost that claim a long time ago and I will not let you act like you're some jealous boyfriend anytime some other guy comes along. You have no right," she repeated. "You and I aren't… anything," she said finally.

He shook his head and drained his drink. "Fine," he said. "Have a great night Rory." He turned on his heel and once again, Rory was left to do nothing but watch him walk away from her. With a shake of her head, she took a deep breath and wandered over to another group of people she knew and fell into conversation with them. If they noticed she was preoccupied, they didn't let on and she was grateful for that.

Toward the end of the evening she was at the bar, waiting on a glass of water when Logan approached her again. He stopped just short of standing on top of her and even in her irritated state, she felt the familiar ache pooling in the pit of her stomach.

"Josh was right about one thing," he said low in her ear and she shivered. "Your ass looks amazing in that dress." His hand slid down her back and over the curve of the aforementioned body part.

Involuntarily she found herself leaning back against him. "Logan," she sighed.

"I was jealous, you were right," he admitted. "I still am, and I don't like that I am, but Rory, you were wrong. We are something."

"I know," she said reluctantly. "But we—"

"It doesn't matter," he interrupted her. His arm edged around her, holding her back to his chest.

"People will talk," she murmured, not making any attempt to move from his embrace.

"People are already talking." She knew he was right, ever since that stupid Page Six item, they never managed to escape the limelight. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too. But Logan, that doesn't change anything, we both know what will happen tomorrow morning if we stay together tonight."

"It could be different." She twisted her neck to look at him pointedly. "Okay, no, it wouldn't change. You're absolutely right about that. But if you don't care, then I don't either. So we both know what tomorrow morning is going to be like, great, then there won't be any surprises."

"Are you drunk?"

"I wish," he said seriously. "At least I'd have an excuse then, but no Rory, I'm not drunk. I'm completely sober and I know exactly what I'm asking you to do right now. I know what we're getting into."

"We've been in this for a long time," she mused, trying to come up with the willpower to be the one to walk away. "I know you think I'll change my mind, Logan, but I need to tell you—"

"I know. Believe me Ace, I know you want no part of what I wanted. I'm okay with that, really, I am." She twisted to look at him again. "Okay, no I'm not," he agreed. "But let's just forget everything else but you and me here tonight. You said so yourself, fate keeps pushing us together for a reason."

She relented, turning fully in his arms and letting her hands fall to his chest. "My room is right upstairs," she said quietly, not quite making eye contact.

"Yeah?" He stepped closer. "Is it a nice room?"

She shrugged, her face edging closer to his. "It's okay." Her eyes fell shut as his lips met hers and she cursed herself for being so damn susceptible to him. "Big bed," she murmured.

"And we both know how much you hate sleeping alone in a big bed." It was a callback to one of their earlier trysts. They had both been in Atlanta and she had used that excuse to get him to come up to her room with him. She nodded into him and he kissed her again. "Okay Ace, show me this room."

They tried to be discrete but both were aware that there were eyes on the two of them as they left the banquet room. Rory kept her eyes down but wasn't able to keep the flush from staining her cheeks. All was forgotten; however, the moment the elevator door slid shut and Logan had her backed up against the mirrored wall.

Consequences be damned, she would deal with them in the morning. She always did.

* * *

><p>"What are you smiling at?" It was the following morning and Rory and Logan were having breakfast downstairs in the hotel dining room.<p>

Rory shrugged and tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. "Nothing."

"Come on, Ace," he goaded. "There's meaning behind that smile, I know there is." They were having an easy morning, just the two of them. As usual, the night before had been nothing short of incredible but when they had woken up this morning it was as if the fight had run out of the both of them. For the first time, neither had pushed the other into their routine fight. They had simply woken up, made love again (something they never did before, mornings were always forbidden) and after little discussion, had decided on breakfast. There had been no grand declarations of love, no pleading with one another to stay forever, they simply just enjoyed each others company and Logan couldn't lie, he enjoyed that they weren't fighting. He knew that she enjoyed it too. "Rory..."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "It's nothing, I just…. Oh hell. I happen to like this, okay? I like waking up and having breakfast with you in the morning. I missed this." She crossed her arms in front of her. "Don't look so smug."

"I'm not smug," he protested but he didn't stop smiling. She continued to fake glare at him so he moved from his side of the table to hers, sliding his chair closer. "I like this too," he admitted, leaning in to kiss her. She let his lips slide against hers before pulling away, looking around guiltily. He laughed. "Everyone saw us go upstairs together yesterday," he pointed out. "No one is shocked to see us having breakfast now. Except maybe Josh."

"Nice." She poured another cup of coffee for herself and settled back in her chair. "That doesn't mean we should flaunt it. Once people start talking…"

"Rory forget about everyone else and just enjoy the morning okay? In a couple of hours we're both going to have to leave and head back to real life; we can worry about it then, deal?"

"Deal." She looked out the windows at the view of the Bay. "California really is nice," she admitted, leaning slightly against him. "It's so cold and gray sometimes in New York. I mean, I love my job and everything, but this sun…" she gestured out the window. "I can see why you love it here." She paused. "I could see myself loving it here."

"Yeah?" He tried to keep his voice neutral. This meant nothing, it was just idle conversation. "We get rain here too, you know."

She shrugged against him. "Well sure but you don't get the snowstorms. Or the below zero temperatures." She fell silent for a moment. "We could be happy here."

Now, this was something. "Could?" He sat up a bit straighter and turned to look at her.

"Could have," she amended, intently studying her hands all the while yelling at herself for her mix-up. He didn't falter in his stare and she sighed, looking up at him through dark lashes. "We could be happy here," she said again softly.

He heard all he needed to. Leaning forward, he captured her lips with his, cupping the back of her head with his hand. She let herself get lost for a moment as the reality of her words sunk in. She realized she meant what she had said. She was tired of the fighting, of constantly saying goodbye when it was clear that they couldn't or wouldn't stay away from each other. She really could see them being happy together.

"Well now, aren't you two adorable?" They both jumped at the new voice and as Rory took in the girl standing in front of them, she noticed that guilt had washed all over Logan's face. Interesting. "This would make just the sweetest story!" she continued on, clasping her hands together and speaking in a high-pitched voice. "Estranged lovebirds reunite at friend's wedding." She turned her icy eyes toward Logan. "Loving girlfriend is none the wiser, but very much the fool."

"Girlfriend?" Rory asked but Logan had already jumped up and was speaking over her.

"Jen, I can explain."

"Oh, you can explain? Explain what? You seem to forget that our friends were here last night, Logan. Our friends, yours and mine, so I know exactly what this is." She sighed. "I really thought you were done with all of this after the last time."

"Last time?" Rory echoed. She looked back and forth between the two of them, trying to figure out how much this girl knew. She shook her head, jumping up from the table. "I can't believe you, Logan. This is exactly why I couldn't marry you, you haven't changed one damn bit since the first day we met."

"Come on, you kno—"

"Stop." She held up her hand. "Just stop, please." She bit the inside of her cheek, determined not to cry in front of the two of them. "Just stop." She held his gaze for a moment longer and then turned and fled the dining room.

Jen meanwhile, sat down in Rory's spot at the table and helped herself to a cup of coffee. "So, my dear, I take it that was the beautiful and talented Rory Gilmore?"

Logan pulled her back up from the table and after dropping a few bills to cover breakfast, dragged her out of the hotel and into the daylight. "Completely uncalled for, Jen."

"What was? Me finding you with your other girlfriend?" She snorted. "If that's your definition of uncalled for, let's talk about your activities from last night and this morning and see what uncalled for really is." The smile died on her lips as Logan fully faced her and she realized she was walking a very fine line.

"Fine, let's do this," he said, pulling her into her car and getting in the driver's seat himself. He'd send for his car later. "We should have had this talk a long time ago." Jen sat back against the seat and gave him an appraising look. Logan, for his part, had his jaw set and kept his eyes on the road the entire drive back to his house.

"I really thought she'd be prettier," Jen noted, dropping her purse on the couch before sitting down. "I mean for as much pining as you do over this girl, seeing her in person was kind of a letdown." Her bravado faltered under the look he gave her and she tried to laugh it off. "Oh come on, Logan, what am I supposed to say? I just caught you with another woman and you have the gall to be angry with me?"

"Do you know what you just did?" She hadn't expected him to yell and jumped slightly in her seat as he threw his car keys against the wall with such force that the paint chipped.

"You just ruined everything."


	3. She Comes and She Goes

**Author's Note: **Wow! I can't lie, I am loving all of the Jen hate from you! And while this chapter won't do her any favors, I have to admit, I do love writing the girl. If Chapter Three was an episode of Friends, it would definitely be called "There One Where No One Takes the Blame". As always, thank you so much for reading!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Three – She Comes and She Goes<br>**_And it's hard for me to take a stand  
><em>_When I would take her anyway I can ~ Neon_

Growing up in Bakersfield, California, Jen Buckner hadn't exactly had the easiest of times. She always knew she was destined for something better than the life she was brought up in. Her mother, widowed at the age of twenty-three, had mourned for all of six weeks before shacking up with a truck driver of all things. She had never remarried, and well, Jen was thankful for small favors no matter how much she despised her mother's common law husband. Her mother made no attempt to better her life, she seemed quite content with her lot and Jen still shuddered, to think about it. She had been eight years old when she promised herself she would leave and never look back, sixteen when she actually left, and now at twenty-four; all Bakersfield was to her was a distant memory.

Sure it had been hard; reinventing herself, but honestly, as long as she kept investing in highlights, spray tans and designer handbags, the rest was easy to fake until she got there. She spent years climbing the social ladder. She dated soccer players, bided her time with investment bankers, and then one magical night she just so happened to walk into the same party as Logan Huntzberger. She couldn't have planned it better, and once she set her sights on him, she'd be damned if she let him go without a fight.

Yes, she knew the back story. What she didn't find out from the gossip rags, Shira and Honor were more than happy to fill her in on. Oh yes, she had managed to get Logan to introduce her to his family a mere four months after they had started dating, and they had been over the moon thrilled with his choice in a girlfriend. True Huntzberger wife material, Shira had proclaimed after that first weekend in the Vineyard.

And now, if she didn't play her cards carefully, she was going to lose everything she had worked so hard for in the last year.

"I know you're upset, Logan," she said cautiously. "I get it, I do. This morning; that was… that was bad, that shouldn't have happened. I shouldn't have come looking for you like that."

"No, you shouldn't have." She tried not to bristle at his insisting this was completely her fault. She was the one being cheated on, and if she wanted to come out of this with a diamond on her hand, she couldn't even really call him out on the fact that he was cheating on her.

"Logan." She tried to place a hand on his shoulder but he jerked away from her. She sighed. "Look, it's not like I haven't known about Rory before today." She caught his eye and nodded. "I've known; we both know that. I knew going into this relationship that I was always going to be second best, but you know what? I've accepted that. I'm okay with that because even if I don't have your heart, you have mine. One hundred percent. I know the score, Logan, I always have." She tried to keep any trace of bitterness out of her voice

He gave a short laugh. "Do you know what had just happened before you walked in?" he asked. "She had told me she was ready. She was finally ready to marry me."

Jen's perfectly arched eyebrow shot up. "Oh really? She said that? Those exact words?" This could be worse than she thought.

"She said she could be happy here," he explained. "And that was the first time she's ever said anything about us having a future. And then you walked in and…" He shook his head.

Jen laughed. "Oh Logan." She rolled her eyes and waited for him to look at her. "I love you, I do, but really, you have got to stop being so damn pathetic." His eyes flashed but she continued on. "I mean it. So Rory told you that she could be happy here. Big fucking deal, Logan. I mean, you had just spent the night together in God knows how long, and let's face it; we both know you're talented enough to elicit that very reaction from any girl you've had in your bed. She was sated, completely satisfied and she didn't want to let go of that feeling. I can't say I blame the girl." She shrugged. "But you and I both know that she wasn't going to change her mind and come running after a life with you. She wasn't." Her words were spoken more gently now and Logan refused to look at her. "Sweetie, like I said, I know you love this girl. I don't know why you do and for the love of God, no one can make me understand it." She was lying through her teeth, she knew Rory was gorgeous, and despite every negative comment Honor and Shira had about her, she also knew that given the chance, Rory was the type of girl who would be the perfect wife for Logan.

"Rory and I—"

"Are over," she finished. "Have been for quite some time, too." She walked over to where he was sitting and stood behind him, her hands falling to his shoulders. "It's time to grow up, Logan. It's time to let go of the past and move forward with me." She began to work at the knots in his shoulders. "If you want to keep seeing her, fine, I'm okay with that. But only if you're not a complete idiot about it. There will be no chasing after her. No public encounters like last night." Her fingers dug into his skin. "I won't be made a fool of Logan, but I get it, men sometimes need someone on the side. If you're discrete, I don't care. But you have got to stop pining after someone who has no interest than using you for more than a roll in the hay."

Logan closed his eyes. Jen had a point, whether he liked it or not and he didn't like it at all. There was a very strong chance that she was right, that a life with Rory was nothing more than a pipe dream. The other thing Jen was right about was that he needed to grow up. He did need to stop chasing after things that were never meant to be his. He sighed and pushed her hands from his shoulders, standing up.

"I need to think," he said abruptly. "I'm going to go take a shower."

"Good idea, honey," she cooed. "I'll order us in some lunch and we'll spend a quiet day together, okay?"

"Whatever." He waved her off and headed up the stairs to the master suite. She watched him, her eyes narrowing the whole time. She waited until she heard the water running upstairs before making a beeline for her phone. She needed help, and she didn't have a second to spare.

She sighed as the call went straight to voicemail. "Hi Honor, it's Jen," she chirped brightly. "Listen, I don't mean to alarm you, but I may have a slight problem. I need you to call me as soon as you get this." She paused. "I need to know every single detail about Rory Gilmore."

Meanwhile upstairs, Logan was making his own phone call and was also being forwarded to voicemail. "Rory, please. I know you're angry. Please, just let me explain. Call me." He set the phone down and stepped into the shower, knowing it was a long shot that she would actually call him back.

Back in her hotel room Rory herself was emerging from a long hot shower. She had heard her phone ring but knew immediately that it was Logan and made no attempt to answer it.

She wasn't stupid. She knew exactly who Jen Buckner was. She'd have to have been blind not to, given how much that girl loved having her photograph taken. She had always just been really good at pretending that the girl didn't exist whenever she was with Logan. He had never shown any intention of speaking about her and Rory was perfectly okay with that. It made her feel less guilty somehow.

However, no matter how unspoken their actions were, it was pretty damn hard to be nonchalant about it when she was staring the girl in her face. It wasn't so easy to pretend she wasn't doing anything wrong then. Though she was loathe to admit it, once again Rory was the other woman. Sure, one could argue that this situation wasn't quite as bad as the one with Dean. Logan and Jen weren't married, for one thing. And really, if she wanted to be completely in denial about it, she could tell herself that if given the go-ahead from her, Logan would end things with Jen in a second.

Neither of these thoughts made her feel any better and resignedly, she finished packing up her things, intent on getting to the airport and switching her evening flight for the soonest one possible. She needed to get of California before either she or Logan did anything stupid.

She was almost out the door when something shiny caught her eye. Walking back over to the bed, she found one of Logan's cufflinks lying there. She picked it up, holding it in her palm while she inspected it. It was indeed one of the one she had given him on his own graduation from Yale. For a moment she entertained the thought that he was still wearing things she had given him and not anything from his girlfriend but she pushed the thoughts from her head just as quickly. Jealousy wasn't pretty on anyone, especially hypocrites.

Cufflink still in hand, she left the room without a look back. The sooner she was back home, the better it would be for everyone.

Across town, Logan emerged from his shower not quite feeling better, but more clear-headed at least. Yes, Rory was mad, he got that. Did she have a right to be? Absolutely not. She was the one who told him not to wait for her. She had to have expected that he would be seeing other girls. He expected the same from her. He frowned. Actually, he had never once thought that Rory was dating someone else in the past two years, but then again, he never asked. If he had asked, he would have had to have mentioned Jen.

The truth was, six months ago he had been ready to call things off with Jen. He had known from the very beginning that she was using him to better her own social status, and honestly, at the time he really didn't give a fuck, he was just trying to get over Rory. Jen was attractive, she knew how to have a good time and she was a great distraction. Other than that, they had zero in common. Jen was smart, she ran a small event planning firm in town, but she was fluff where he was substance. Eventually, he had grown bored with her and was going to end it the last weekend he had spent with Rory before Violet and Andy's wedding.

But then he and Rory had had their standard morning-after fight and he had walked out of there with every intention of never laying eyes on her again. He had come home to find Jen waiting for him and he found himself deciding to give her a real chance. The next weekend, he had taken her back East to meet his family.

Did he love Jen? Probably not, but he did care for her. Marrying her would alleviate a lot of problems between him and his family, and she would be a good wife but he hadn't been able to make himself even discuss that next step with her. Like it or not, he was still holding out hope for Rory to come to her senses.

Today she almost did. He was almost positive that she would have but then Jen had to show up. He sighed and threw his towel to the floor. He really couldn't be mad at her for this, as easy as she would be to blame. Really, it was his fault for keeping both of them in his life at the same time.

On the other hand, his mind kept circling back to the thought that Rory had zero reason to be angry with him. As she loved to point out to him, she wasn't his girlfriend.

His phone sat on the dresser where he had left it, the blinking light signaling a new message. He approached it cautiously, not wanting to get his hopes up because really, what would he say to her if she actually did agree to see him?

_I'm sorry my girlfriend found us_ wouldn't sit very well with her. Neither would _you told me to move on with my life, but hey, we can still see each other._

As it turned out he didn't have to worry about what to say because the text message she had left him told him everything he needed to know.

_Found your cufflink in the room, the concierge has it._

That was it. Nothing in regards to what had happened between them that morning, just a note to pick up a stupid cufflink. He shook his head and threw the phone across the room where it bounced off of his bed. She was gone. The small window of hope had slammed shut on his fingers and there really was no other course of action he could take.

He really did need to stop being so pathetic. Squaring his shoulders, he headed back downstairs where his girlfriend met him with a smile and a drink, never mind that it wasn't even noon.

"Thought you could use this," she said sweetly. She smiled as he took the drink from her, nodding his thanks. "While you were in the shower, I got a call from Rosemary. She and Finn are coming into town for the week and I said we'd have dinner with them tonight." It wasn't entirely a lie. In her panic of not being able to reach Honor, Jen had impulsively decided to reach out to Logan's friends, thinking that they would be able to help her in her quest to destroy any feelings Logan may still have for Rory. The fact that Finn and Rosemary happened to be on their way into town was pure luck.

"Good, I haven't seen Finn in forever." Logan sighed and set his glass down. "I should get some work done this afternoon."

"Logan," Jen whined. "I thought we were going to spend the afternoon together?"

"I know." He offered her a sincere smile. "But I'm swamped, and if you want me out of the office tomorrow night in time for dinner with your friends, then I need to get some of it done today."

"Oh fine." She gave him a slight pout. "We'll go out with Finn and Rosemary tonight though?"

"Sounds good. I'll leave it to you girls to plan when and where." He started back up the stairs to his office, pausing midway to turn around again. "Hey Jen?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about…." His voice trailed off and he shrugged. "All of it. You don't deserve that. I really am sorry."

She smiled at him. "You're forgiven; I know it must be hard to love someone who doesn't love you back." She smiled inwardly as he winced at the point she was trying to drive home. "I'll let you make it up to me however you would like, but sapphires are always a nice way to say I'm sorry."

"I'll keep that in mind." He continued upstairs to his office, leaving Jen alone again in the living room.

"Sorry my ass," she muttered as she finished off the drink Logan had left on the table. She sat down and flipped open her laptop. It was time to do some research of her own on Rory.

* * *

><p>Logan sighed and looked at his watch for the umpteenth time that night. As much as he normally enjoyed a nigh out with Finn, tonight was anything but fun. From the very start of dinner, Jen had made it clear that she was going to fill in his friends all about his affair with Rory and no matter how many times he tried to steer the conversation elsewhere, she kept circling it back to Rory.<p>

"Again, I really don't think we should be talking about Rory," Logan said tightly as Finn ordered a third round of drinks. His eyes leveled against Jen's. "For one, its nobody's business but ours, and two… actually no, all that matters is that it's nobody's business but ours."

"But honey." Jen smiled at him but her eyes were full of contempt. "You can't blame me for being curious about the girl. I mean if there are going to be three of us in this relationship; I think I have every right to know all about her."

Logan slammed his drink down and got up from the table. Finn and Rosemary shared a look before Finn rose and went after his friend.

"Honestly," Jen rolled her eyes. "He's actually angry with me for being mad at him. Can you believe that? He's the one that's been cheating on me but how dare I be mad?"

Rosemary sighed. This was the first she had heard of Logan and Rory's ongoing affair, but she couldn't say she was completely surprised. "Logan and Rory's history is complicated," she said delicately. "Of course he would be sensitive about it."

Jen leaned back in her chair and studied the other girl. "Rosemary," she said sweetly. "Logan has not been cheating on Rory. He's been cheating on _me_." She emphasized the last word. "Perhaps you're confused with where your sympathies should lie?"

Now Rosemary rolled her eyes. "Look, Rory is one of my friends. As far as I knew, I had no idea that she and Logan had been in any contact at all since Yale. Granted, I don' t see or talk to her as much as I'd like; but I'm with Finn, and when he made it clear where his loyalty was at, I cut my ties with her. All of Logan's friends did, because that's what we were supposed to do." She shook her head. "But if you're expecting to get any dirt on her or for me to sit here and let you badmouth her, then you're mistaken. I have no hard feelings for Rory, I understand what she did and why two years ago and if we're really being honest." She paused and took a sip of her wine. "I'm not surprised at all that Logan has been seeing her this whole time. I should say I expected it even."

"But Logan and I—"

"But nothing," Rosemary said with a wave of her hand. "Jen, I like you, I do. But sweetheart, you're setting yourself up for a world of hurt if you're counting on you and Logan living happily ever after. Those two will end up together in the end," she declared. "It's just a matter of when and where. Now," she opened up the menu and peered at it intently. "I don't know about you, but I have been craving tiramisu all day long."

Jen stared at her, seething. Rosemary was the only one of Logan's social circle to ever defend or support Rory's actions in front of her and she couldn't believe what she had just heard. What kind of friend was she?

"A good one."

Jen's head snapped up. She hadn't realized she'd voiced her question out loud until she heard Logan answer her as he approached the table again. "Everything all right, ladies?"

Rosemary shrugged and waited as the guys sat down again. "Jen's mad at me because I won't say anything bad about Rory," she explained. She grabbed the waiter and ordered dessert for the table before continuing on. "Frankly, Logan was right when he said it wasn't any of our business." She winked at Logan. "I do hope you know what you're doing."

"I do," he said at the same time as Finn disagreed.

"That settles it then!" Rosemary raised her glass. "Cheers, then." Logan was the only one who brought his glass against hers as he discretely mouthed the words thank you to her.

Jen pushed her chair back and stood up. "I'm really not in the mood for dessert. Logan, are you ready?"

"I guess so," he sighed. He stood back up from the table. "Good seeing you guys again, don't be strangers while you're in town. And Rosemary?" He bent down to kiss her cheek. "Please try and get Finn to relax a little."

"Oh that I could." She smiled up at him. "Goodnight Logan. Maybe we could do lunch tomorrow, Jen?"

"I'm busy," she said shortly.

"Right then." Rosemary shrugged. "Goodnight, Jen." She and Finn watched the other couple walk out of the restaurant. "She's not a good match for him," she said, turning to her boyfriend. "Do you think he's starting to see that?"

Finn shook his head. "You forget one very important thing, Love. She won't break his heart when he asks her to marry him."

"Oh sweetie!" Rosemary laughed. "He's never going to ask her to marry him." She took another drink of her wine. "Not while Rory's still in the picture."

"Didn't you hear anything? As of today, Rory's finally gone."

"Trust me, Finnie. Rory's not going anywhere."

* * *

><p>"Rory, what are you doing?" Paris stood in the doorway, hands on her hips. "Why aren't you ready, we're supposed to meet Doyle at the movie in half an hour. Oh, by the way." She tried to sound nonchalant. "He ran into his friend Dave this morning, and Dave didn't have any plans tonight so he invited him along, but don't worry, it's totally not a blind date."<p>

Rory looked up from her computer with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah okay, it's totally a blind date," Paris agreed. "But really, can you blame him? I mean, I love you, you're my best friend and all, but Doyle is kind of getting tired of the whole third wheel thing."

"Doyle's sweet," Rory commented. She pushed her chair back and stretched. "I think I might sit this movie out though, Paris. I'm really not feeling it."

"Don't you dare make me spend the night alone with Doyle," Paris threatened. She and Doyle had just gotten back from a two week vacation where they had spent the entire fourteen days alone in a secluded cabin in the middle of nowhere and she'd be damned if she spent that much time alone with him again.

"I'm really busy," Rory protested. Unwittingly, her eyes drifted back to her computer and Paris was around the table in an instant, peering over her shoulder.

"Busy huh? Jen Buckner. Jen Buckner, why do I know that name?" Before she could protest, Paris had grabbed the mouse from Rory's hand and was scrolling through the Google image search. "Oh Jesus Rory! Logan's girlfriend? You're e-stalking Logan's girlfriend?" Paris slammed the laptop cover down and pulled Rory up from her chair, shaking her slightly. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing!" Rory insisted. "I just..." She sighed. "Jen kind of caught Logan and I together last weekend and well, it wasn't pretty. I just wanted to know more about her." For the last week, Rory had spent nearly every waking moment when she wasn't at work, scouring the internet for information on Logan's girlfriend. She couldn't stop herself.

"Caught you and Logan?" Paris smacked her hand to her forehead. "I bet you two weren't just drinking coffee were you?"

"Actually, at the time we were," Rory said honestly but Paris was already in the beginning of her rant.

I knew it. Of course you're still sleeping with him. That would explain why you never date. How long has this been going on?"

Rory looked down at her hands guiltily as she told Paris the truth.

Paris sighed. "Hang on one second." She grabbed her cell phone and dialed Doyle's number. "Hey, it's me. Rory and I are going to have to skip this movie, something came up. Yeah, girl stuff." She rolled her eyes and mimicked shooting herself in the head as Doyle kept talking in her ear. "Fine, great, you and Dave go have a guy's night. No really, I don't care, you'll have fun. Okay. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Love you too." She put the phone back down and looked around. "So what do we need first? Pizza? Chinese food? Indian? All of the above?"

"Paris, you didn't have to cancel—"

"I did. You and I have more important things to do right now. We are going to sit here and you are going to tell me this story from beginning to end and then after all of that, we are going to figure out the quickest way for you to get over this guy, because Rory, it's been almost two years since you broke up. You should be way past this shit by now."

"I know." Rory dropped her head into her hands. "Pizza," she mumbled through her fingers. "And then probably Chinese in another hour."

"On it." Rory lifted her head and watched as Paris set about ordering dinner for the two of them. If you would have told Rory during her junior year at Chilton that Paris Gellar of all people, would be the friend she remained closest to after all of these years, she would have laughed in your face. But it was true, even after all these years, she just wasn't able to shake the girl and it was times like these when she realized just how glad she was for that.

"Buckner," Paris slurred several hours later with a laugh. "What kind of last name is that? Look at her. Fuck-her would be more appropriate." She had made the executive decision when ordering dinner that a couple bottles of wine wouldn't hurt either, and they were well into the third bottle now.

Rory giggled. "She's not even really that pretty in person," she confided. "Kind of plain looking really. Just on the right side of trashy, you know?"

"I bet." Paris looked up from the pages they had printed off. Sometime before dessert but after the first bottle of wine, she had decided that she and Rory needed to dig up everything they could on this girl. She wanted to prove to Rory that she needed to let go of Logan; that he was happier with a lower class of girl than he would have been with her. "Did you see this? Her mom lives in Bakersfield." Her lip curled in disgust. "_Bakersfield. _She's a waitress at the local Big Boy."

"Don't be a snob, Paris."

"I'm just saying," Paris said pointedly. "Logan's choice to date someone much more like his mother just proves how right you were not to marry him. You're better than him, Rory. You always have been and now you need to just cut your ties for good."

"She's no good for him." Rory said stubbornly. "He'll never be happy with her."

"Says who? You?" Paris shook her head and refilled their glasses. "Rory, why are you hanging on to him? You said no, remember? It's time for you to move on. I bet we could still meet up with the guys. Dave sounds like a catch and everything."

"We're not going out," Rory objected. "I..." She shook her head. "Logan and I are complicated. You wouldn't understand, but I just can't give him up."

"You're crazy," Paris commented. "Oh, look at this! Jen competed in local pageants when she was little. Of course she did." They snarked on Jen for another hour or so before Rory turned and saw that Paris had fallen asleep on the couch. She sighed and covered her with a blanket before quickly cleaning up the apartment and turning off the lights. She crawled into bed herself and lay there in the dark, trying to figure out what she was going to do. She had been trying to figure that out since Sunday but so far, she hadn't found the answer she was looking for. Finally, she opened her eyes, hoping that the answer would come to her in her sleep.

Instead, she spent the night dreaming about Logan.

* * *

><p>The ringing phone didn't deter Logan from the report he was working on. He merely hit the talk button and slipped on his headset. "Hello?"<p>

"Logan."

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten the sound of my voice after one week?"

He stopped typing. "Rory?"

"So you do remember."

"Calling to make sure I picked up my cufflink?"

She sighed audibly into the phone. "I don't want to get into this over the phone."

"Ah yes. Then calling me seemed like the smartest thing to do."

"I'm boarding the red eye in ten minutes," she said sharply. "Will you meet me at my hotel or not? To talk," she clarified.

"No."

"No?" Her voice actually sounded incredulous.

"No," he repeated. "But if you'd like, I can send a driver and have him bring you to my place."

She hesitated. "Logan, I don't know if tha—"

"Jen's not here tonight, if that's what you're worried about. She's in Palm Springs for the weekend."

"It's not that. Well, I mean that's part of it, but… your house, really? Aside from that first night, we've never actually set foot in each other's ho—"

"My house or nothing, Ace. Take it or leave it."

"Fine," she said, an edge still creeping into her voice. She gave him her flight information and he promised to have a driver waiting for her when she arrived. "Again, I only want to talk, Logan."

"Loud and clear, Rory. Loud and clear." He couldn't keep the condescension out of his tone. "I'll see you in a couple of hours. Have a good flight."

* * *

><p>"Can you please just drive around the block once more?" Rory pleaded, leaning forward so that the driver could hear her. It was the third time she had made this same request and he only smiled at her in the mirror and nodded, once again driving past Logan's address and rounding the corner.<p>

"If I may, Miss," the driver began politely. "If you're afraid of meeting this gentleman, perhaps you're in the wrong line of work? I'd hate to see a girl as pretty as you wasting her time with this nonsense if you're truly uncomfortable with it."

"I beg your pardon?"

He winked at her. "I see it all the time; I just never have seen someone so skittish before. Are you sure this is the right profession for you honey?"

She raised an eyebrow. "You're not one of Logan's normal drivers are you?"

"I'm not, but he's not so different than any other man apparently."

Rory leaned forward again and met the driver's eyes in the review mirror again. "I'm an ex-girlfriend of his, that's all," she said pointedly. "And the reason I keep having you drive around in a circle is because we have some very difficult things to discuss tonight and I'm not ready to face him like I thought I was." She leaned back. "It's nice to know you think I'm dressed like an escort though. High end, I hope."

"You look very lovely," he said. "And I do apologize. I hope I didn't offend you." He pulled around to the front of the house again. "I think it's time you face the music though."

"I think you're right," she said reluctantly. She smiled at him. "Thank you." She slid out of the car and with a deep breath, made her way up the front walk. She stood in front of the door for a moment before resolutely raising her fist and knocking.

Logan opened the door immediately. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to show up after all," he said as he stepped aside, letting her in.

"Your driver thought I was a hooker," she said casually, stepping into the foyer. "It took me a few minutes to set him straight is all." She tried not to notice as Logan's eyes swept up and down her.

"Hmm. If hookers looked like you," he began leeringly, but stopped and laughed at the look she was giving him. "I'm teasing. You do look great though."

"So this is the house, huh?" She looked around, thinking back to the description he had given her so long ago.

"It is. Would you like a tour?" She shook her head. "Okay well, can I get you a drink? I feel like this conversation requires drinks." He led her into the living room.

"A drink would be great, thank you." She wandered around the room as Logan headed toward the wet bar. She paused at a table filled with frames and inspected the pictures. Most were of Logan and Jen, with a few of his family and friends scattered in. "You two look happy," she commented, tracing one of the frames with her index finger.

Logan looked up. "If there's a camera around, Jen's happy," he said dryly. He walked over to hand her a drink and peered at the picture in particular. "That was a party she organized, some big opening, I don't remember."

"She's very pretty," Rory remarked. "Unconventionally, anyways."

Logan raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. She said the same thing about you." He grinned as her eyes snapped. "So, what was it that you wanted to talk about again?" He gestured to the sofa and they both sat down.

She took a sip from her glass and stared at a spot over Logan's shoulder. "You and me," she said with a nod. "You and Jen. The three of us, I guess."

"The three of us?" He smirked. "You have changed, haven't you?"

"Shush." She gave him a bored look. "I'm trying to be serious here."

"Then just say it, whatever it is."

"I'm jealous, okay?" The words tumbled out and she looked down at her hands.

Logan stared at her, taking a drink from his own glass. "Jealous," he repeated innocently. "Of what?"

"Don't be a bastard," she said snapped.

"I'm sorry, but wasn't it just last week that you pointed out to me that I didn't have any right to be jealous of any guy who found you attractive?" he asked. "What was it that you said again? Oh right, that we were nothing." He leaned back. "So what are you jealous of, exactly?"

She crossed her arms in front of her. "Really?"

"Really," he said seriously. "What are you jealous of Rory?"

"You could do so much better than her," she said before she could stop herself. "I mean, really Logan? Jen Buckner is nothing more than a carbon copy of Shira! She's a money hungry, social status climbing, desperate excuse of a woman who thinks she finally hit the jackpot with you!"

"Wow." He sat back. "I never knew you were such a hypocrite. That's pretty ballsy of you though, Rory, casting aspersions on my relationship with Jen. It's not like we just started dating, we've been together over a year," he pointed out. She flinched but he kept going. "Some might even say its serious. I mean, she's been introduced to my family. Mom adores her, Honor and her are great friends."

"Oh since when do you care what your mother thinks of your girlfriends?"

Logan shrugged. "I'm just stating a fact Rory. You said that Jen must have hit the jackpot when she met me, and you may be right, but what about me? What if I'm the lucky one to have found her?"

Rory paled and her fingers tightened around her glass. "Do you love her?" she asked quietly.

"I care about her," he said finally. "Is it love?" He shrugged. "It's not like the way I love you," he admitted. "But then again, I wouldn't ever dare compare the two of you." He reached over and touched her knee, taking comfort when she didn't pull away. "Rory, it's okay to be jealous," he said finally.

"No, it's not!" she said vehemently. "You're right to call me a hypocrite. I've spent so much time telling you that it's not fair for you to be jealous when it comes to me, and here I am, so pathetically jealous over the fact that you've moved on without me. I know I practically begged you to every time we were together, but I never imagined you actually would." She laughed bitterly. "So I guess that makes me selfish too."

"Rory."

"I shouldn't have come here," she said suddenly, standing up. "I'm just making things worse. I wanted you to be happy, I wanted nothing else. And now you're are happy, and here I am, completely and totally unhappy about it." She was about to lose it and she wanted to make her escape before he could see her fall apart. "I'm so sorry. I hope I didn't ruin things between the two of you, I hope that you're happy together, and that she really is everything that I couldn't be for you." She sighed when Logan blocked the doorway, not letting her out of the room. "Logan please," she said, her voice dangerously close to breaking. "Please, just let me go."

"What do you want, Rory?" he asked quietly. He didn't move from the doorway. "At the hotel last week, what did you want? What did you want all week when you couldn't think about anything else?" He stepped closer to her, still blocking her in. "What do you want right now?"

"You, you stupid jerk!" she cried out finally. "I just want you. I always have." She did break down then, letting two years' worth of tears escape her. Logan reached out and she let him wrap his arms around her as she cried. "I'm so stupid," she sniffled into his shoulder. He said nothing, wanting her to say everything she needed to without interruption. "I know that this is stupid, that I have no right to put any of this on you, especially after I got so angry just last week for the same thing. This isn't fair to you, and I'm so so sorry. I'm sure Jen is lovely, I'm sure she can make you happy but there's just this stupid, petty, insecure side of me that needs to think that no one else is ever going to be good enough for you but me." A fresh wave of tears overcame her and they stood there, unmoving as she cried.

Logan's arms tightened around her, one of his hands moving to run through her hair. "Are you done?" he asked kindly. "Don't get me wrong, we'll stand here until you're completely cried out but—"

"I'm done," she said hastily, brushing her hand over her eyes. Logan pulled her hands away.

"Okay. Then I'm going to ask you again. What do you want, Rory?"

She sighed and went tense in his arms. "I want you," she repeated. "But I still don't want to get married," she admitted. "And that's what makes this so awful of me. I want you, but I can't commit to you the way you want me to and even as it is, I have no claim to you," she rambled on. "I have no claim at all and I certainly have no right to expect you to wait forever for me."

This time it was Logan who sighed. "Do you think you'd really make me wait forever?" he asked finally.

"I don't know," she said softly. "I don't want to."

"What has you so scared? Why do you think marrying me would be so terrible?"

Images from her first fantasy about being married to Logan flashed through mind and she shook her head. "I don't want to talk about that," she said quickly.

"We have to talk about it," he said firmly. She refused to meet his eyes and after a moment he relented. "Do you at least agree we need to talk about it soon?"

"Soon," she agreed. "Just not tonight." She felt herself growing warm in his arms. "I felt awful this week."

"I did too," he said. His hand fell from her hair and ghosted over her back. "You do have a right, you know," he said finally. "And you have a claim. All you have to do is say it out loud." There was silence on her end. "Rory, just say it," he pleaded. "I promise I'll never bring it up again, but you have to give me something."

"I know I do," she said quietly. "But I cant. Not now. I'm sorry."

Logan closed his eyes. "Let's stop apologizing for tonight, okay?" His hand moved up and down her back again. "I know you said you were only coming over her to talk, but since you're here..." His fingers dipped under the hem of her shirt. "I mean, the driver did think you were a hooker," he pointed out.

She leaned away from him and slapped his chest. "You didn't pay for me," she pointed out without moving from his embrace.

"Oh, I've paid," Logan said seriously. He leaned his forehead to hers. "We don't have anything to be jealous about tonight. It's just us. Let's just be us tonight."

"But Jen," she protested.

Logan shook his head. "Rory, tell me to break up with her and I will. Just say the words."

"Break up with her," Rory said. She immediately shook her head. "I don't mean that. I can't ask you to do that."

"You can," Logan said. He dropped it when she just shook her head again. "I've missed you." Both of his hands slid up the back of her shirt. He wasn't sure who kissed whom first but he really didn't care. In a second, he had her in his arms and was carrying her up the stairs to his bedroom. They were nearly through the doorway when Rory broke the embrace and stopped them, reaching out with her hand to grab the doorframe.

"Not here," she pleaded, looking around the room before looking back at him. Immediately he understood. Of course she wouldn't want to be in the bed he'd shared with Jen. He nodded and turned them around, continuing down the hallway to the second bedroom suite. This time she let him pass through the door and lay her down on the bed.

* * *

><p>"Good morning, Sunshine!" Jen's voice was perky and bright over the phone. "I didn't expect you to call this morning, but I'm glad you did. I should be home this afternoon and I was thinking that tonight we shou—"<p>

"It's over, Jen."

There was a long pause on her end of the phone. "Excuse me? It's over?" she repeated. "What's over?"

"We are." He knew he was an ass for doing this over the phone, but he also knew how dramatic it would be had he done it in person.

"We are." She laughed sharply. "Don't be ridiculous, Logan. We're not over. Things are better than ever with us."

"Jen…"

"Oh of course!" Jen's voice turned to pure ice. "She's there right now, isn't she? I'm surprised she stayed away as long as she did. Did she tell you she would marry you, Logan?" She laughed again at his silence. "How long do you plan on letting that girl make a fool of you? How long are you going to let yourself be a joke, because that's exactly what you are and everybody knows it. Finn, your sister, me, we're all so tired of watching you throw away your potential and your dignity as you wait for some girl who's never going to marry you."

"Are you done?"

Not even close." Jen was on a roll now. "Do you honestly think she doesn't know just how whipped she has you? Christ Logan, she doesn't have to do anything but bat those stupid blue eyes at you and you come running. She knows she has you wrapped around her finger and she knows she'll never have to change. You're going to be there waiting pathetically for her and she's never going to marry you. Do you hear me, Logan? Rory Gilmore is never going to marry you."

"You have two choices," Logan interrupted harshly. "Either you can pick up your things tomorrow while I'm at work or I can have them shipped to you. What is it going to be?"

"Logan, honey, let's be sensible here." Jen's voice turned sweet as she switched tactics. "I already told you that you could have your little girlfriend on the side; what more could you want? Just… look; I'll be home in a couple of hours. You can send her on her merry little way back to New York, and I'll come over and we'll talk this out. Let's not throw away everything we've worked so hard for just because you can't seem to keep it in your pants around this girl." She fought to stay calm. Logan was silent for a moment and she hoped that her was seriously considering what she had to say.

"I will have your things packed up and sent to you," he said finally. "You'll have them all within 48 hours." She began to protest but he cut her off. "Also, you should know that I've already had the locks changed on the house so you shouldn't even think about coming over. Additionally, you will no longer be allowed on the premises at work."

"So that's it?" she asked bitterly. "I'm just banished at the snap of your fingers?"

"Why should this upset you?" he asked blithely. "I mean, what kind of woman would actually want to be with someone they both know is in love with someone that's not you? Isn't that just as, if not more, pathetic than I am?"

"Screw you Logan," she snarled into the phone. "This isn't over, you know."

"It is, Jen. It really is." He paused. "Take care,." he added as an afterthought before he disconnected the call in the midst of her rant and turned around to see that Rory had woken up. She lay on her side, the sheet tucked under her arms as she smiled brilliantly up at him.

"Don't look so smug," she said, blushing under the look he gave her as he climbed back into the bed and crawled up toward her. "This changes nothing," she reminded him.

"Whatever you say," he said, leaning in to kiss her. "You're looking awfully smug yourself." She didn't deny it and he rolled her onto her back and pressed her deeper into the mattress.

She pulled away. "I'm serious!" she protested. "We have many, many, many things to discuss before anything else happens. I mean, we still live on opposite ends of the country," she pointed out. "And that's the least of our problems." She shook her head and tried not to smile as he kissed her again. "Nothing has changed between us," she said again, her voice betraying her.

"We can talk later," he said, pulling the sheet away from her. She tried to protest again but he held a finger against her lips. "Nothing has changed between us," he promised her, but his eyes were still twinkling. "So let's do what we always do." He captured her lips with his again.

They were both lying but only he was willing to admit it. Indeed, everything had changed now and while he wasn't sure what any of this meant for the two of them, he was willing to see where things would take them now. If only he could get Rory to open up about her fears. He was already working on a plan to get her to talk to him. Later though, much later.

Oh yes, in the last 12 hours, everything had changed and both of them were well aware of it.


	4. Send Me to My Knees

**Author's Note: **It's really easy to update this story so quickly when my new job allows me to write pretty much for 8 hours a day. Big fan of this job. Big fan of everyone who continues to read and enjoy this story as well! Thank you so much! There are huge breakthroughs coming up in the next couple of chapters, but this particular chapter? If it were a television show, it would be called Everybody Hates Rory. Don't get me wrong, I can be the biggest Rory sympathizer in the world, but I think we can all agree that there are just a few things she needs to be called out on – and there's a whole parade of characters waiting to do so! Enjoy! 

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four – Send Me to My Knees<br>**_Oh I'll never know what makes this man  
><em>_With all of the love that his heart can stand  
><em>_Dream of ways to throw it all away ~ Gravity_

There were fewer things in life that Emily Gilmore enjoyed more than the simple elegance of a proper afternoon tea and there were even fewer things that could ruin that moment for her. Shira Huntzberger breezing into the tea room with her flock of friends was one of them. Unfortunately for her, Shira noticed her across the room and after a few words to her party, she was strolling toward Emily with purpose.

Emily sighed, setting down her teacup. She and Shira had managed to remain cordial after the kids had broken up but the less they said to each other, the better. She straightened her shoulders and waited for Shira with a smile on her face.

"Emily," Shira greeted coolly. "May I?" she asked, gesturing to the empty chair.

"Of course." Emily waited until she was seated. "You're looking well, this weather certainly seems to be agreeing with you."

"Let's just cut the small talk Emily, and get right down to it, okay?"

Emily's smile faltered. "Get down to what exactly?" she asked. "I'm afraid I don't know wha—"

"Your granddaughter is ruining my son's life," Shira hissed. "_Again_."

"You want to talk about Rory and Logan? My God, Shira, they've been over for ages. I know my granddaughter is a wonderful catch for any man but hasn't Logan moved on yet? He has, hasn't he? To that Buckner girl that was here over the holidays. "She's lovely, I'm sure."

"Oh come off it, Emily. Rory is certainly no prize. The way she's been behaving for the past two years is absolutely disgraceful. Granted, Logan's been no better but I can't blame him for being tempted by—"

"I suggest you watch your tone of voice before you say something you regret," Emily broke in calmly. "And again, I'm not sure what you're talking about?"

"That tart of a granddaughter you have has been carrying on an affair with Logan!" Shira's voice raised a notch, attracting the attention of several tables around them.

Emily paled. "I'm sure this has got to be some sort of mistake."

"Oh it's a mistake alright! The entire time Logan's been with Jen, he's been sleeping with Rory!"

"Lower your voice," Emily snapped, looking around.

"I will not." Shira glared at her. "Jen caught them together, you know. A little over a month ago. Logan admitted the whole sordid affair to her and they had decided to work through it." She shook her head. "That poor girl, she was absolutely heartbroken. But then _she _showed up again and did God knows whatever she does and once again my idiot of a son threw his future away. He broke up with Jen the next morning."

Emily's mind was in overdrive. She had no idea what Shira was talking about, but as the story grew, so did her anxiety. "Are you saying Logan and Rory are back together?" she asked.

"No!" Shira shook her head vehemently. "And thank God for small favors. No Emily, they are not back together; however they do manage to share a bed more often than not."

Emily's eyes narrowed as she set down her cup. "I am sorry that Logan and his girlfriend did not work out, but Shira, I will not sit here and discuss idle vicious gossip about my granddaughter." She leaned forward. "And even if it is true, may I remind you that Logan is a grown man, certainly he should be in capable of making his own decisions, however distasteful they may be. If they are indeed involved, you cannot blame my granddaughter if your son is just as weak."

"Emily, your granddaughter is a slut," Shira said bluntly, her eyes flashing satisfactorily as Emily's color rose. "Plain and simple, just like her mother." She opened her purse and pulled out a newspaper clipping and held it out toward the older woman. It was a picture of Logan and Rory from the wedding they had attended a month earlier. "Now, I don't care how you do it, but you will keep her away from my son," Shira threatened. "And if you don't, I will." She got up and walked away, leaving Emily to stare after her with a stunned expression on her face.

Emily sat perfectly still for a moment before picking up her purse and leaving the tea room. She wasn't sure how many people had heard Shira's accusations and how many of those would even believe it, but she had to act quickly. There was damage control to be done and now. She dialed Rory's number as soon as she was in the car but it went straight to voicemail. She decided against leaving a message, not knowing what she would say in the first place. Instead, she dialed a different number and this time she would leave a message when it went to voicemail. It always went to voicemail.

"Lorelai, it's your mother," she said the second the tone sounded. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the whole point of having a cell phone is that it makes you easily attainable when an emergency strikes? Because if I'm to believe what I just heard, Lorelai, we have an emergency concerning Rory." She sighed in frustration. "Would you please call me back as soon as you get this? Goodbye." She almost called Richard but decided against that, there was no need to worry him yet. Lorelai hadn't called her back within five minutes so she got into her car and headed straight for the Dragonfly Inn.

* * *

><p>Rory unlocked her apartment, thankful for the quiet as she stepped inside. Work had been an absolute nightmare that morning; one of the other anchors had done a segment with a local zookeeper who had brought in some of the noisiest damn birds she had ever heard in her life. Then, immediately at 8 AM she had been thrown into a staff production meeting where the normal volume was always loud. Naturally, on the subway ride home she had been seated next to the screaming child who's mother did nothing to stop the crying. As she walked into her building, the maintenance department had been repairing the elevator in the lobby.<p>

She made a beeline straight for the medicine cabinet and downed four pills in quick succession. Then she headed toward the bedroom, stripping off her clothes as she went, leaving a trail behind her. Closing the blinds and pulling the covers back from her bed, she threw herself facedown into the mattress.

The last month had been exhausting. She and Logan, though both being very careful to not define their relationship, had seen more of each other than they had in the entire last two years. Either she went to him or he came to her; some nights they met in the middle of the country, but regardless, the frequent flyer miles were building up and the hours of sleep were dwindling. Getting up to be on the air at 5 AM was beginning to be a nightmare and her afternoons were wrecked because she was either always catching up on sleep or catching a flight.

Her cell phone rang and she groaned, fumbling around the sheets for it. The caller id showed that it was Emily, and honestly, she just could not deal with her now. She sent the phone call to voicemail and buried her face in the pillow again, immediately falling into a fitful sleep.

Even the sleep she managed to get lately was poor. She loved the time she was spending with Logan, and even though he had ended things with Jen, she still felt incredibly guilty.

She hadn't told Logan, but Jen had shown up at the house the day after he had broken up with her. Rory had known that really, she didn't have to let her in, but she had, deciding that maybe if she had a chance to say whatever she needed, then everything would be over.

Clearly, she had underestimated Jen Buckner.

_One Month Earlier.._.

Rory opened the front door and was startled to see the taller blonde standing there. Standing a bit straighter she shrugged her shoulders and gripped the side of the door. "Logan's not here," she said after a long staring match. "I can tell him you stopped by if you like, but—" She stopped talking as Jen pushed past her and walked through the house. "Or, you can just come on in."

"Making yourself right at home already, I see," she commented as she noticed the pitcher of iced tea and the book Rory had left on the table by the couch. She turned and looked at Rory, her eyes taking her in from head to toe. Rory was barefoot, wearing only faded denim shorts and a halter top, as she really had been intent on spending the early afternoon just relaxing as she waited for Logan to be done with a meeting he couldn't get out of.

Rory sighed. "Look Jen, I know you're angry right no—"

Jen laughed. "You don't know anything about me," she corrected her. "But I know all about you." She smirked. "No, not from Logan. No, he never even mentioned your name to me, but I have my sources."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Shira? If that's your only source than—"

"Shira, Honor, Finn and Colin." Jen leveled her eyes against Rory's. "You know, all of the people in Logan's life that haven't let him down in the past two years. The ones who were around to pick up the pieces after you destroyed him."

"You don't kno—"

"I do know," Jen said matter-of-factly. "Maybe you don't know what that first month after you broke up with him was like, but then again how could you? You lost just about every single friend the two of you shared because they all sided with him. They all knew exactly what a cold-hearted bitch you turned out to be." She poured herself a glass of tea. "Have you heard from Finn lately, Rory?" She took a sip. "He's definitely not the president of your fan club, seeing as how he was the one who watched after Logan that whole time. He knows that the two of you have been fucking around behind everyone's backs and I gotta tell you Hon," She shrugged. "He's really pretty pissed over the whole thing. And don't even get me started on Shira and Honor and what they think of you."

Rory sighed. "If you know everything about me, you already know that Logan's family and I—"

"Yes, you've never been on the best of terms with them, have you?" Jen cocked her head to the side. "And why not? The second I was introduced to them, we got along famously."

"Of course you did," Rory interjected sweetly. "I'm sure you had plenty in common. I mean, Shira's from Riverside, isn't she? And with you being from Bakersfield and all." She paused, letting her words sink in. "Well, I can't imagine that there's much difference in waitressing whether it be in a bar or a diner. Especially when you're both so desperate to sleep your way to the top."

Jen set her glass down. "I see I'm not the only one who's done some research. I'm not surprised though, I'd expect nothing less from you."

Rory threw her hands up in the air. "Do you even love him?" she asked finally. "Do you? Because there are plenty of rich men you could latch onto if you're so concerned about your precious social status."

"Really? You're really going to ask me if I love him? You're damn right I love him, and he would have loved me too if you had just stayed away!" She began pacing. "Seriously, what kind of woman are you? Do you have any grace? Any class? For God's sake, I caught you with him! When he didn't go running after you that morning and came home with me, any woman with a decent upbringing would have taken her cue and walked away."

"Oh honey, don't talk to me about upbringing; if we're talking manners I will run circles around you," Rory said, her voice full of venom. "Emily Post doesn't exactly approve of women who let their boyfriends cheat on them and encourage them to do so if they keep it discrete."

"And look what good that did me," Jen snapped. "The very next week, you were lying in my bed."

"And what does that tell you?" Rory didn't bother to correct her about not sleeping in that bed. "Logan loves me. I can't help that, and maybe I didn't do enough to discourage our behavior over the last two years, but Logan. Loves. Me."

Jen laughed harshly. "You are a piece of work, you really are." She stood toe to toe with Rory. "Oh I know perfectly well that Logan loves you. I'm quite sure that you love him too but not as much as you love yourself. You are so goddamned selfish and self-absorbed that you don't even realize what you've been doing to him the last two years, let alone the last week, do you? You have destroyed the man that Logan was, you destroyed the greatness that he could have been if he wasn't so damned preoccupied with chasing after you." She shook her head. "I have never seen a man so pathetically in love with a girl before. It's been absolutely sickening to watch, and if I hadn't thought I actually had a chance of ridding him of you, I would have been gone a long long time ago."

"Then why did you stay?"

"I told you, I loved him," Jen said simply. "But as long as you're around, I don't stand a chance."

"I'm not going anywhere," Rory said firmly.

"Of course you're not." Jen tilted her head to the side. 'Are you ever going to marry him? He still wants that, you know." She pursed her lips. "No, you won't, will you? You enjoy stringing him along just a little too much, don't you?"

"I am not stri—"

"You are, and we both know it. Denying it at this point would just be petty." Jen shrugged. "You may as well own it, for how well it's working. But how long do you think it will work exactly? How long will Logan be content to stay in this holding pattern? How much longer will you continue to put your own needs ahead of his? Because that's always the basis for a really good relationship." Her sarcasm bit into Rory, who was too flustered to form a response.

Jen didn't wait, moving to pick up the purse she had discarded on her way in. "I need to be going. I knew Logan had his meeting and I really did just want to have this time to say a few things to you. I trust you won't be telling him I stopped by?" She laughed. "Then again, you could tell him I was here and play the whole poor me pity card, telling him all the awful and horrible and mean things I've said to you," she taunted.. "Tell him, don't tell him, I don't really care either way. I've already been dismissed."

"Do you feel better?" Rory asked condescendingly.

"Do you?" She shot back. "Does my being a bitch make it easier for you to ignore the fact that you are the one who was wholly in the wrong here? That you were the one cheating? Will that help you sleep better at night?" She smirked at Rory's face. "That's what I thought." She slid her sunglasses from the top of her head to rest on her face. "Do take care, Rory." She didn't bother to hide the contempt in her voice as Rory closed the door on her.

_Back to present day..._

Rory groaned into her pillow as her phone rang again. Lifting her head, she saw that this time it was her mother. She debated for a moment before finally picking up the phone. "Mom, hi," she said, her voice full of fake cheer. "What's up?" The next thing she knew, she was agreeing to meet Lorelai for lunch the following day.

It wasn't that Lorelai didn't make the trip to New York often to see Rory, but this time around, Rory had been wary from the phone call that started the whole trip. And now that they were sitting here face to face, Rory braced herself for what she could only imagine was coming next.

"Rory, what are you doing?"

"What are you talking about, Mom?" She swallowed as Lorelai silently pushed a couple of newspaper clippings toward her. Of course, this was what was coming next. Photos of her and Logan over the last month. Jen had used every PR tactic she knew to get the word of their tryst out there, whether they liked it or not. "Oh. That."

"Yes, that. Two years, Rory? Really?"

"Not exactly two years, but technically yes." She shrugged her shoulders. "The first year and half we only saw each other a handful of times. It's really only been since January that—"

"That what?"

Rory bristled. She was getting really tired of defending herself. "I know it was wrong, Mom," she interrupted. "But we…" she shook her head. "I can't stay away from him," she admitted. "Everyone's making this out to be that Logan is the sorry one, that no matter what, he can't leave well enough alone, but the truth is, I'd be just as lost without him."

Lorelai said nothing, just reached for her hand and inspected her ring finger. "That is the smallest diamond I have ever seen, Kid."

"Oh who said anything about getting married?"

"Uh, Logan did. You know, right before he broke up with you. Didn't he break up with you because he didn't want to play the dating game anymore? I can only assume he still doesn't want that?"

"He doesn't," she agreed. Lorelai picked up her hand again. "We're not talking marriage yet," she said finally.

"But soon?"

"I don't know," Rory said honestly.

"I'm going to ask you something I should have asked you a long time ago." Lorelai paused. "Why did you say no?"

Rory shrugged. "I got scared," she admitted. "I was going to say yes. At least, I think I was going to say yes. I wanted to say yes, anyways."

"So why didn't you?"

"I had a dream. Not exactly a dream, but… a fantasy of what being married to Logan would be like. And I couldn't live like that."

"So you're psychic," Lorelai mused. "Yep, I knew I should have asked you years ago, we could totally have won the lottery by now had I known that."

"I'm not like you," Rory said quietly. "If Logan and I got married, and we had a baby and then he just disappeared, I couldn't a child by myself."

Lorelai sucked in a breath. "First of all, you could," she said reassuringly. "You absolutely could, but Hon, why would you need to? Do you think Logan' s the type to bail on his family? If so, maybe that's where your real problem is."

"Did you think Dad would?"

"Oh Rory. Your dad didn't bail, not at first anyways. I pushed him away, as hard as I could and only because I was pushing that whole lifestyle away, he was an innocent casualty.

"Dad wasn't there, ever," Rory emphasized. "And I don't care what you say, if he had wanted to be, he would have been. What if Logan's the same way? Look at his father! Neither of us knows what a true dad is supposed to be like and what if after we start a family, he decides that he didn't want that after all and I'm left on my own? I can't do that."

"What does Logan have to say about all of this?" She frowned at Rory's silence. "Are you kidding me? You two have waste two years being miserable because you won't share this one little fear with him? Seriously, Rory, it's an hour long conversation tops, and then you'll be good."

"It's not just that," Rory said defensively, but she knew Lorelai was right. "I get what you're saying," she said finally.

"So you'll talk to him?" She nudged Rory's shoulder with her own. "Rory."

"Yes, I'll talk to him," she agreed.

"When?"

"He'll be here this weekend. I'll talk to him then."

"Good." Lorelai nodded satisfactorily. "Okay, now I want all of the gossip. Especially the story about the girlfriend catching you." She leaned forward as Rory sighed and began her story.

"Well, remember when I was on the Obama tour and everyone thought I was pregnant? Apparently, everyone included Logan..."

* * *

><p>"You have got to be kidding me." Rory's tone of voice alarmed Paris and she snapped her head up from her book. The two of them had just finished lunch and while Paris was studying for an exam, Rory was preparing for a news segment.<p>

"What? What's going on?" She followed Rory's line of eyesight and made a face. "Isn't that Logan's sister?"

"Sure is." She bit her lip. From what Jen had told her, Rory was willing to bet she wasn't one of Honor's favorite people at the moment. "I should probably get this over with. I'll be right back." She shook her head as Paris began to pick up her things. "No, you stay here. I need to do this on my own."

"Okay, but I got your back if you need it. Let me know." Paris picked up her book again but turned her chair so that she was facing the discussion that was about to take place.

"Honor, hi." She approached her carefully. "I'm surprised we haven't run into each other before today."

Honor shrugged. "I'm not. It's terribly easy to avoid someone when you really try."

"Well then today must be my lucky day," Rory said dryly. "May I sit?" Honor nodded. "Thank you." She tried not to falter under Honor's expectant stare. "You know why I'm here, Honor."

"Do I?" Honor tilted her head to the side and smiled condescendingly.

Rory sighed. "I know that you know that Logan and I are—"

"Yes, what _are _you and Logan?" Honor asked abruptly.

"Together," Rory said simply. "We're together."

"Together," she repeated. "Huh. And you were together while he was with Jen?"

"What do you want me to say, Honor? I've already had this conversation with Jen and I'm sure she's told you all about it. Honestly, it's really none of your business as it is. I'm just trying to clear the air for Logan's sake."

Honor sat back in her chair and studied her for a moment. "I really liked you, Rory," she said finally. "I did. I thought you were a wonderful match for my little brother. You were exactly what he needed and when he showed me that ring and told me he was going to ask you to marry him I was thrilled. Completely ecstatic." Her expression hardened. "And then you turned him down and everything changed."

"He broke up with me, did you know that?" Rory asked sharply. "I didn't say I didn't want to be with him, he was the one who didn't want to be with me."

"And look how long that lasted. Six months, right?" She waited for Rory's nod. "You know, if you had behaved differently then even. If after he came for you, you turned everything around and the two of you had decided to live happily ever after, I would have supported that completely. I would have been so happy for the both of you."

"And you can't be happy for us now?" She challenged. "Even if Logan's happy?"

"Is he?" Honor shot back. "Is he really truly happy Rory? Or is he still chasing after someone who's just going to break his heart all over again." She slid her chair closer to Rory's. 'Trust me, you do not want to hurt him again."

"Logan wasn't the only one who was hurt," she said defensively. "And I know this might be hard to believe but I didn't _make _Logan do anything. I haven't made him do anything that he's done since then. He's a grown man, he makes his own decisions. I certainly didn't tell him to cheat on his girlfriend."

"You didn't stop him either," Honor pointed out. She sighed. "Yes, Logan's a grown man, but Rory, when it comes to you—"

"I am so goddamned sick of people treating me like I'm pulling the strings on a puppet making him do whatever I want! He's an adult, Honor, he does whatever he wants and he always has. I am not leading him around on some leash like he's a pet."

"Not intentionally, you're not. But whether you like it or not, you know that you hold an awful lot of power over him. Before whatever happened last month, I swore that Logan was going to marry Jen. Mom was ready to send out save-the-date cards. And then just like that, it was over and Jen tells me its because you came into town and all of a sudden I'm hearing things that I never even dreamed of, but after thinking about it, I realized I wasn't surprised."

"Do you think they would have been happy?" Rory asked suddenly.

"No," Honor said with a shake of her head. "Well, Jen would have been," she amended. "Logan though," she shook her head again. "He was always just biding his time with her until you came around. I had always suspected that to be the case and I'm sure of that now. Don't get me wrong, he would have married her, but they would have been nothing more than Mitchum and Shira, take two."

"So then why do you hate me?"

Honor rolled her eyes. "You know, not everything is about you," she said, her voice rising in frustration. "Logan is my brother," she said plainly. "And for a long time, he and I had no one but each other, and those bonds aren't breaking anytime soon. It would have killed him had you and I stayed friends after he broke up with you, so we didn't." She shrugged. "It wasn't anything personal, it's still not really, but my loyalty lies with Logan. It always will."

"And now that I'm with Logan?"

Honor shook her head, smiling slightly. "Rory, until you're _officially _with him and not sneaking around like a couple of scared teenagers, nothing has changed. However," she conceded. "When I see things change, then we'll see." She laughed lightly. "God knows you'll need a friendly face around the next time you see Shira."

Rory cringed just thinking about it. "For what it's worth, Honor, I'm not going anywhere."

"I know." Honor smiled sadly. "That's what I'm afraid of."

* * *

><p>The apartment was dark and silent as Logan let himself in using the key Rory had given him several weeks ago. "Rory?" he called quietly. He heard her muffled "In here" coming from the direction of the bedroom so he locked the door behind him, picked his suitcase up again and headed toward the bedroom. Sure enough, Rory was sprawled out in bed, her head buried under the pillow. He sympathized with her completely, the last month had been exhausting for the both of them; her especially seeing as how she was on the air every morning during the week at five. He took notice of her surroundings, seeing first the half empty tissue box, then noticing the crumpled tissues that littered the floor.<p>

"Hey." Logan sat on the edge of the bed gingerly, touching her knee. "Are you okay?" Rory opened her eyes and shook her head. She motioned for him to come closer so he kicked his shoes off and crawled into the bed with her. "What's going on?"

"Everybody blames me," she admitted, not looking him in the eyes. "For this, for us, for you breaking up with Jen… it's all my fault, did you know that? Apparently, you're not capable of making a sound decision when it comes to me and I'm just ruining your life all over again."

"Who said that?"

"Everybody! Honor, my grandmother, Shira, Jen…"

"Wait, when did you talk to any of them?" He forced her to look at him. "Rory, what happened? Is my family ambushing you?"

"No, it's all been lucky coincidences. Well, except Jen. She showed up at the house the day after you broke up with her and we…" she trailed off. "Had words," she decided on finally. "And I thought that would be the end of it, but it was just the beginning. I ran into Honor earlier today and then she and I got into it, and honestly, that wasn't that bad, she's just being a good big sister. Which she is supposed to do. But Shira. She got to my grandmother." Rory sighed and Logan winced. "They all said the same thing though; I ruined your life when we broke up and I'm doing the same thing now." She looked at him suddenly. "Was it awful? When we broke up the first time?"

Logan shrugged. "It wasn't great," he pointed out. "For either of us, I'm sure. I was angry and hurt. I may have had a couple of dark days, if you want to call it, but I'm okay now. We both are." He shrugged. "We're back together."

"Are we really though?" she asked. "I mean, I told Honor the same thing, but Logan, are we? We live on opposite ends of the country, all we do when we're together is fall into bed or eat."

"Two of your favorite things," he reminded her lightly. She rolled her eyes.

"That's not really a relationship," she pointed out.

"Why are you all of a sudden trying to define us?" Logan asked. "Haven't you been the one constantly insisting that we don't need a label? What's changed?"

"Maybe I've changed," she said quietly.

He shook his head. "You can't keep doing this to me!"

"I know that. But Logan, maybe its time we started talking." He sat up a little straighter. "Don't look at me like that, we've both known this was coming and it seems like it's time." She shrugged slightly. "What do you think?"

"I think that we're talking." He looked around at their surroundings. "Here? Or do you think we need to move elsewhere? Neutral ground, perhaps?"

"Here is good," she said, rolling over onto her side so that they were facing each other. "Do you want to know why I said no when you asked me to marry you?"

"That would be a good place to start." He propped his head on one hand and placed the other on her hip, waiting for her to talk.

"I was scared."

He stared. "That's it? Really? You were scared." He shook his head. "No shit, Rory, I was scared too, but big fucking deal. Pretty sure everyone about to get married is but you know what? Most couples get through it. Together."

"Are you going to attack every single thing I say? " She waited for him to shake his head. "I wasn't scared to marry you, no Logan, I was scared of what would happen after we got married. Scared of what would happen when we started a family." After a moment she went on to explain the fantasy she still remembered as vividly as the night she first thought of it.

Logan tried to process her words. "I'm really trying to understand this, Rory. So in your imagination, sixteen years down the line we're happy, we're successful, and our family is thriving? What upsets you, that you're still in the DAR or that our daughter has a coming out party? Those are things that can be changed Rory. The rest of it…" He shook his head again. "People would kill for that kind of life, Rory."

"I know that!" she said, her voice full of distress. "I am perfectly aware of how wonderful it all sounds, and I know that it would be perfect and we would be happy but…" She closed her eyes for a second. "The thought of it didn't excite me," she said finally. "Here I had imagined this amazing life for the two of us, and all I could think was, do I really want that? If I had wanted that, wouldn't I have been more excited about the idea than I was?" She saw Logan flinch and reached out to touch his hand. "I wasn't excited," she said truthfully. "I was paralyzed by my fear, and in that second, I could see my entire life mapped out for me and the only thought running through my head was, what if it ends up all being a mistake? What if we have all of that and then I realize I didn't want any of it? I couldn't let you down like that." She bit her lower lip. "When someone asks you to marry them, you're supposed to be excited. You're supposed to immediately start thinking what your dress is going to look like and what flavor cake you want and what song you want the first dance to be to." She looked at Logan with a look of pure guilt on her face. "I wasn't as excited as I was supposed to be about it." The look Logan gave her was killing her and she began to wonder if maybe this conversation wasn't the best idea after all.

"Can I ask a question? Not attacking you, I promise." She nodded. "What did you think was going to happen? We had been together for over two years, and had lived together for one. What did you think the next step was going to be?"

"Of course I knew the next step was going to be getting married, but I didn't think it was going to be so soon," Rory stressed. "We had never even talked about it, Logan. Not once. I thought I had more time to prepare myself for it."

"Well, you've had almost another two years to think about it, what do you think now?"

She shook her head. "That's not fair. Up until a month ago you were seeing someone else."

"That doesn't mean you didn't think about it."

She sighed. "You can't force me to say I want to marry you, Logan, no matter how you try to do it."

"That's just it, Rory, I shouldn't have to force you! You should want to."

"And I do but _not right now_," she said through clenched teeth. She shook her head. "If we keep going, all we're going to do is talk in circles. This is getting us absolutely nowhere. All I wanted to do was tell you why I said no; that I was so terrified of marrying you that I had no choice but to say no. And of course I want to marry you, Logan," she added suddenly. "But wouldn't you rather that I was absolutely sure that I was ready?" He didn't say anything. "Look at my mom," Rory pointed out. "She was engaged twice, and didn't follow through on either one because it was too soon."

"Don't do that. You're not Lorelai any more than I'm Mitchum," Logan protested.

"And I don't want to be like her, not in that aspect. Logan, please. Please trust me on this one. Can we please just go back to dating for a little bit? Please?"

Logan sighed. "We are so far past dating, Rory." He shook his head. "It's kind of funny, isn't it? Me trying to convince you to commit?"

"I am committed," she said sincerely.

Logan nodded but he didn't look convinced. They lay there quietly, side-by-side for awhile before he moved to sit up. She followed, confused.

"Where are we going?"

"I need to do something," he answered, bending down to reach his shoes. "You don't have to get up, I'll be back within the hour."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." He planted a kiss on the top of her head. "I'll be back soon, I promise."

Rory frowned, not entirely sure what was going on. It wasn't like Logan to just up and leave during a conversation and she was worried that she had upset him more than he was letting on. She debated on getting up and starting dinner or catching up on some work until he got there, but she absolutely had zero motivation. She really was exhausted from her week and getting up seemed to require more effort than it was worth so instead she stayed where she was and thought up possible scenarios as to where Logan had gone.

She must have dozed off because the next thing she knew, Logan was back in bed and gently shaking her awake. "Hey," she said sleepily. "I didn't mean to fall asleep on you."

He laughed. "For a minute there, I was afraid to wake you; you look exhausted, even when you're sleeping."

She yawned in spite of herself. "Thanks." She sat up and looked at him expectantly. "So, you're back."

"Very observant."

She rolled her eyes. "Where did you go?"

"Had to get something." He smirked at her before his expression turned serious. "Okay so, before I left, you said that you're in this, that you're committed to seeing where this goes from here, right?"

"Right," she agreed.

"Okay then. I have something for you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small jewelry box.

She pulled back as soon as she saw the size of the box. Ring-sized. "Logan…"

He laughed. "Relax, I'm not asking you to marry me, I promise." She eyed him warily as he slid and arm around her and pulled her back to him. "Yes, it's a ring." He opened the box and showed it to her. "It's even a diamond ring. A black diamond, to be exact." He picked up her hand and slid it onto her ring finger with ease. She was too stunned to react. "But it is not an engagement ring."

"Logan, what are you doing?" She couldn't wrap her head around what was happening.

He laughed again. "I am trying to avoid seeing that very look on your face when I do propose to you. And I will propose to you. Someday," he said seriously. He looked down to her hand and her eyes followed. "I saw this ring while I was on a business trip well over a year ago and I knew I wanted you to have it but I also knew you wouldn't accept it at the time. I still bought it, and it's been sitting in a safety deposit box in the office here since then."

"Why here?"

He shrugged. "Because you were here? I want you to have this ring, Rory. And I want you to wear it so that you get used to wearing a ring so that when I do replace that one with a different ring, an engagement ring, you're not going to feel like its suffocating you."

"I don't feel suf—"

"And I don't want you too," he said, cutting her off again. "I wish you could see the look on your face." He sighed. "I really don't want to see it again." He looked down at her hand again. "How does it feel?"

She studied the ring, holding her hand out in front of her. He was right, she realized. She had expected her hand to feel a thousand times heavier with this ring on it. "It's a beautiful ring," she said honestly, sliding her eyes back to him and smiling. Her smile grew as she watched him visibly relax and curled into his side, stretching back out onto the bed. "Thank you, Logan."

"You're welcome." He bent his head to kiss her and stopped himself from pointing out that she hadn't exactly answered his question. He smiled at the disappointed pout she gave him as he pulled away from her and chuckled. He turned his head to look at the alarm clock by the bed. "I know it's only seven-thirty but I have a suggestion on plans for tonight." He shook his head at her raised eyebrow. "Calm down, I'm talking about sleep. We're both exhausted, Rory. We've been running ourselves ragged for weeks now, and work hasn't be easy and this talk today, that was big. I just think we'd be better off—"

"No,sleep's good," she agreed quickly. "I like sleep."

"I like sleep too." He disentangled himself from her briefly to shed his clothing and then climbed back under the covers with her. "I love you," he said as they rearranged themselves around each other, their bodies each falling into well-practiced positions.

"Love you too." She closed her eyes and listened as Logan's breathing began to even out. Opening her eyes again, she tilted her head on his chest to stare at the ring now adorning her hand. It was a beautiful ring; she had meant that when she said it. She also realized she wasn't feeling as panicked as she thought she might have under other circumstances but on the other hand, she couldn't help but wonder if this was his way of somehow branding her. Announcing to the rest of the world that they were back together and not far off from that marriage he so desperately wanted.

The diamond glittered in the dark as she shifted her hand to get a better look at it. A slight giggle nearly escaped her lips but she was able to stifle it. The next one she couldn't stop and before long, she was laughing hysterically.

"Something you'd like to share?" Logan asked, raising his head to look at her.

"Did Logan Huntzberger just give me a promise ring?" She managed to get the words out in between giggles.

"It's not a promise ring! What are we, sixteen?" Logan smirked.

"I'm pretty sure it's a promise ring." She was still laughing when he rolled the two of them over until she was beneath him. She stopped laughing but her eyes were bright and she was smiling as she looked up at him.

"I guarantee you, it's not a promise ring." He dipped his head and brushed his lips against hers. "Think of it as protection. As long as you're wearing that ring, everyone will know you're mine." Rory shivered against his touch, realizing she hadn't been far off at all in thinking he was marking his territory. He kissed her again, harder this time, until she was breathless. He slowed down gradually, kissing her lazily for awhile before finally breaking away and settling her back in his arms. "Sleep," he reminded her when she pouted at him again.

She was too tired to argue with him so she figured he was right. One of the last thoughts to cross through her mind before she fell asleep was that maybe, just maybe, being Logan's didn't scare her as much as she thought it would.


	5. You Can Be Mad in the Morning

**Author's Note: **Wow, I had a heck of a time with this chapter. I lost count of the rewrites. It may seem kind of random, and it is kind of a filler chapter, but believe me, a lot of what happens actually sets stuff up for the next couple of chapters. I do have a plan... I'm just not showing my hand yet. What can I say? I like to keep you all on your toes. Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five – You Can Be Mad in the Morning<strong>  
><em>Still is the life of your room when you're not inside<br>__and all of your things tell the sweetest storyline  
>Your tears on these sheets when your footsteps are down the hall<br>__so tell me what I did  
><em>_I can't find where the moment went wrong at all ~ Come Back to Bed_

"Rory?" Logan rolled over, blinking his eyes against the flickering light of the television. "What time is it?" It had been a week since he'd given her the ring. He was back in town again; this time for an anniversary party for his parents. Needless to say, neither of them were much looking forward to the event.

"Shh, I didn't mean to wake you." Rory smiled apologetically. "It's 5:30." She nodded at the television. "Just wanted to see how they were doing." She was watching her show, having taken the day off in preparations of making the trip to Connecticut that afternoon.

"Checking out your competition?" He propped himself up on an elbow and turned his focus to the show for a moment. "How can you even be awake? It wasn't that long ago when we fell back asleep." His hand slid over the curve of her side. It had been a late night for the two of them. First Logan's plane had been delayed, making it nearly tn before he had arrived in New York. They had had a quick dinner and then what had started as a stress-relieving massage had quickly turned into a several hours long rendezvous in bed, which had continued on into the early morning hours before both had finally passed out around three.

She shrugged. "I'll fall back asleep in an hour if it'll make you feel better." Her eyes flicked back to the screen. "See the blonde? That's Allison, she's the one who fills in for me when I'm not able to do the show."

"Oh yeah? Think she'll be happy to take over full time?"

"I'm sure she'd love it," Rory murmured. "Backstabbing bitch would kill to have my job." She twisted her head around. "Wait, what?"

"Well, when you move to Cali…" Logan's voice trailed off as he took in the angry expression on her face. He sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. "Okay, its much too early to be doing this right now. Never mind, forget I said anything."

"Do you think I'm moving to California?" Rory asked, sitting up straighter in bed.

"Well, aren't you?"

"Hadn't planned on it," she said bluntly. "Why would you even think that?"

"It's not even six in the morning, we're not fighting about this now," he said again but she wouldn't listen to him.

"Logan."

He sighed. "At Violet's wedding. You said you could be happy in California," he reminded her. "I just assumed that it was only a matter of time before—"

"Before I quit my job, packed up everything and moved clear across the country?"

"Did you think I was going to do it?" he asked incredulously. "Rory, I've built up my entire business on the West Coast To run it from across the country… it would be impossible. It is impossible. On the other hand." He shrugged. "There are morning news shows in every major city in the US."

"Are you kidding me? New York is in the top 3 markets!"

"Look Rory, it's local TV, not CNN," he pointed out. "You're Robin Scherbatsky, not Robin Meade!"

"Robin Scherbatsky's not even real!" Rory glared at Logan. "Really? You're going to compare me to a fictional character on TV? Tell me how you really feel about my job. I had no idea it was so expendable."

"Well one of has to move, we both know that! We've danced around this for a month now!"

"And so it automatically has to be me?" She crossed her arms across her stomach defensively. "What happened to factoring me in, Logan? What happened to that?"

"Oh, come on Rory, that was two years ago!"

"So it doesn't count now? In case you hadn't noticed, Logan, I'm not just some hack reporter they put on air when the main anchor gets sick, I co-host this show!" She glared at him heavily. "And again, if you haven't noticed, I'm kind of a fan favorite over here."

"How could I miss that, what with the Facebook fan pages devoted to your ass!"

Her eyes flashed. "Shall we talk about the Bay Area Bachelor of the Month calendar, _Mr. September_?" she asked with a sneer.

"That was for charity!" he protested.

"Whatever. The point is, I really like my job. Love it even, and I don't think it should be automatic that I'm the one who has to pick up everything and move at the snap of your fingers so we can be together." She swung her legs over the side of the bed and was up and standing before Logan could stop her.

"Shouldn't you want to?" He asked hotly. "After everything we've been through, shouldn't you want to finally make this right?"

She stared at him for a long moment. "Wow. Carry a grudge much, Logan?" He didn't say anything so she just shook her head and headed for the bedroom door.

"Where are you going?" he asked, finding his voice finally.

"Taking a shower."

"It's six in the morning," he protested again. "Come back to bed."

"The last place I want to be right now is in that bed, Logan." She paused in the doorway. "Just let me calm down, okay?"

"Fine." He sighed as she closed the door before turning his attention back to the television. After a moment he reached for the remote and shut it off, leaving him in the still darkened room. He leaned back against the headboard and closed his eyes.

One of them had to move; they were both well aware of this. He wasn't lying when he said they'd been tap dancing around the subject this entire time. Yes, he had assumed it would be easier for her to make the move and he certainly hadn't anticipated her negative reaction to it. The dull pounding in his head began to intensify and he wasn't sure if the headache was due to lack of sleep or his annoyance with Rory. Getting out of the bed himself, he began looking for the aspirin. He opened and shut drawers in quick succession, coming up empty-handed until something caught his eye.

In the bottom drawer of her desk was a box of cd cases. He picked up the first one and frowned. They were all audition tapes and clip packages; all labeled to news channels in California.

"What are you doing?" He hadn't heard the bedroom door open again and turned to see Rory standing there.

"What are these?" he asked, holding up a cd.

Her eyes narrowed. "Going through my things? Really, Logan?"

"I was looking for aspirin, I had a headache. Have a headache. Rory, what is this?" He walked toward her. "Have you sent these out?"

She sighed. "Last week," she admitted.

"So...this." He gestured between the two of them. "This little morning fight we're in the middle of, why are we having it again? You would only send those out if you were considering moving out there."

"No, I was considering my options... giving _us _options," she clarified. "So that when it came to us talking about it, we would have possibilities. This fight." She too, gestured between them. "Is because you automatically assume I'm moving there with no discussion about it at all."

"Wow." Logan finished getting dressed before looking at her again. "Unbelievable. You really are going to do anything possible to keep pushing me away, aren't you?"

"Oh I'm not pushing you away," Rory protested.

"You're damn well trying." He shook his head. "It is still way too early to have this fight." He reached for his shoes.

"So you're just leaving?"

"Yes." He stopped and looked at her. "I'm meeting Honor for breakfast," he reminded her. "But I may as well go to the gym for awhile and let you figure this out."

"Me?"

"Yes. And when you know what you want, you let me know." The front door shut soundly and the feeling Rory was left with was oddly reminiscent of all the times he had left, leaving her alone in hotel rooms over the past two years. With a frustrated sigh, she climbed back into the bed and turned the television back on. Glaring as Allison's perky face filled her screen again, she settled herself against the pillows and willed herself to fall back asleep. At least for a little while, she told herself. Then she would get up and figure out the Logan situation.

* * *

><p>"Hey little brother!" Honor waited until Logan stood up from the table before throwing her arms around him in a big bear hug. "I've missed you! You look good, are you good?"<p>

"You look great too, Honor. I am good, thanks."

"Good." She pulled back and slugged him in the arm. "You stupid idiot, what did you go and do now?"

"Ow!" He made a face at her before they both sat down again. "What was that for?"

"Are you and Rory engaged?"

"No." He smirked. "Not yet." Honor didn't crack a smile and he sighed. "What's wrong now? And oh, don't think we won't be talking about your little talk last week with Rory. Real nice, Hon."

She waved her hand dismissively. "Rory and I had a perfectly pleasant chat, I don't know what you're talking about. What you and I are going to talk about right now is the massive diamond ring she was flashing all over the place on the news this week. She certainly wasn't wearing that last week."

"I didn't realize you watched her show."

"The weatherman is nice to wake up to when Josh is away on business. But that's not the point. Logan, where did that ring come from and how could you be so stupid?"

"First of all, I'm not stupid. Secondly, is it really any of your business if I gave Rory a gift?"

Honor laughed. "A gift is a scarf or a pair of silver earrings. A gift is tickets to her favorite show. A ring, a _diamond ring_, mind you, is so not a gift. Especially between you and Rory." Honor's eyes narrowed. "She was wearing it on her ring finger, Logan."

"I know which finger I put it on," he said mildly. He shook his head at the look Honor gave him. "You know, enough already. This is getting to be ridiculous. You're getting to be ridiculous."

"Did you ask her to marry you?" Honor demanded again.

"No!"

"Why not?" She looked at him expectantly. "If you two are so in love and everything is perfect and you're giving her a ring, why not just ask her to marry you? Because she'd say no, right Logan? After all this time, all this sneaking around and now all of the flaunting the two of you in everyone's faces, she would still say no, wouldn't she?" She raised an eyebrow at his silence. "Did I strike a nerve there/"

"Can't you just be happy for me?"

She shook her head. "Let's pretend for a second that sure, I'm happy for you. That I'm thrilled the two of you have managed to fight your way back to each other. Big deal, Logan. We've been here before. I'll be happy for you and then she's going to be out of the picture again and you'll blame me for liking her and pushing you to be with her."

Logan took a drink from his coffee cup. "I didn't realize we were a couple of high school girls," he commented. "And when have I ever blamed you for pushing me to be with Rory?"

"Okay, maybe I made that part up. I just want you to be careful, that's all!" Honor sighed dramatically. "You're sure it's not an engagement ring."

"I promise you it's not."

Honor smirked. "Can you at least pretend it is tonight at Mom and Dad's?"

Logan laughed. "If she's even still coming with me, I bet the ring will be the talk of the night." He sighed and then proceeded to fill Honor in on his morning with Rory, hoping that perhaps a little input from a female might help him understand what was going on.

"Rory?" It was nearly noon by the time Logan made his way back to her apartment. He let himself in cautiously and offered a half smile when he saw she was sitting on the couch. "Hey."

"Hey." She closed her book and looked up at him. "Did you have a good time?"

He nodded. "I did. Honor says to tell you she will be on her best behavior tonight." He sat down next to her and kicked off his shoes. "Are you all packed? I was thinking we should leave around two." He frowned at the look on her face. "You are still coming tonight, right?"

"Do you still want me to?"

"Of course I do." He shook his head. "Eventually, we are going to need to figure this out, Rory. We can't keep doing what we're doing; this going back and forth isn't going to work. You know it won't work for much longer."

"I know."

"However." He laughed. "Tonight is going to be hard enough, without the extra strain of us fighting, don't you think?" She cringed and nodded in agreement. "That's what I thought. So, how about a truce for while we're in New Haven?"

"Truce," she agreed. She inched closer and rested her head on his shoulder. They sat quietly for a moment. Logan picked up her hand and they both looked at the ring. Instantly, she was transported back to the walk-up she had shared with Paris and it was the night before graduation. "It feels right," she said with a slight nod to the ring.

"Good," he said simply. "Honor thinks we should let mom assume its an engagement ring."

"Well, you always said you'd be the death of your mother."

* * *

><p>"Maybe I shouldn't go." Rory turned from the mirror where she was nervously fixing her hair and looked at Logan plaintively. "You should go without me, why ruin your parents' night?"<p>

"If you don't go, my night will be ruined." Logan crossed the hotel room in quick steps and stood in front of her, resting his hands low on her hips. "You look amazing," he said, taking in her sleeveless cranberry colored dress. Her summer tan was beginning to fade, but the color of the dress made her skin glow. "Can I make one suggestion though?"

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Fashion advice from you? Sure, let's hear it." She gasped when he reached up and pulled three of the bobby pins from her hair. "Logan!"

He shrugged. "Leave it down. I like you better with your hair down and besides." He pulled her in for a long kiss. "This way you won't have to redo it after I've pulled you into a coat closet."

"I'm not having sex with you in a coat closet," she said, turning back to the mirror and removing the rest of the pins. He kept his hands on her hips as she worked and bent in to kiss her neck. Dark curls tumbled down over him, to frame her shoulders and she shook her head slightly before leaning back against him. "Better?"

"Much." He kissed her again. She turned in his arms and he pressed her back against the vanity. "Why no coat closets though?"

She pushed him away, swiping at the traces of lipsticks on his mouth. "Our hotel room is directly above the ballroom and we have an awfully big bed that I would much rather be in then a coat closet." She quickly fixed her own make up.

"You're such a smart woman, Ace." He tried to keep it light, but he could see she was still unhappy. "I promise, if it gets to be too much, we'll leave," he said. "But Honor said she'd behave and Mom and Dad have known for weeks that I was bringing you."

"My grandparents are going to be in there as well," she answered. "And what about your friends?" She sighed. "Everyone that's been talking about us is going to be in that room tonight all at once." She made a face. "And they're all going to hate me."

"Nobody hates you."

"Your mother told my grandmother that I was a slut in front of an entire room of tea drinkers!"

Logan winced. "Yeah, that was bad. I'm sorry about that." He pulled her into his arms and ran a comforting hand down her back. "I promise you, I'm not going to let anyone else say anything to you or about you tonight. If they have a problem with us, they can tell me and I'll tell them to go to hell."

"Charming." She looked at his watch. "We're going to be late if we don't head down there."

"So we'll be late. We're not going down there until you're ready." He kissed her again. "But remember, it's a party, not a firing squad."

She laughed. "You're right." She stayed in his embrace for a few moments more before taking a deep breath and stepping back. "Okay, let's go." She straightened his tie for him and then picked up her clutch from the bed. He held the door open for her and they headed down the hallway to the elevator.

"Look at it this way," Logan said as the doors slid shut. "At least Jen won't be there." Rory managed another laugh, thankful for even the smallest of favors at the moment.

"Jen's here!" Honor swooped in on them the second they stepped off of the elevator.

"What?" Logan felt Rory's hand tighten around his. "Honor!"

"I didn't know Mom hadn't taken her off of the guest list. I saw her walk in and I was going to ask her to leave, but Josh held me back." Honor shifted her eyes apologetically to Rory. "Hi Rory, you look lovely."

"This is ridiculous, where's Mom?" Logan started toward the ballroom but Rory held him back.

"Logan, don't," she pleaded. "Let's just not make a scene, okay? Everything will be fine." She turned back to Honor. "And thank you, you look great too."

Honor nodded. "I need to go check with the servers real quick, but I really just wanted to give you the heads up before you walked in there. I'll see you inside." She gave them another quick smile and hurried off toward the kitchen.

"Unbelievable." Logan turned to look at Rory. "Want to skip it and head back up to the room and ravish each other until the sun comes up?"

"Yes." She laughed at how his eyes lit up. "But we can't. We have to go in there." She looked over his shoulder and saw that the guests were starting to arrive. "But before we do." She grabbed his arm and pulled him slightly off into a corner. "I need to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"I love you," she said simply. She pressed her hand to his cheek as she spoke. "I really do love you, Logan, so much. And I know we're arguing a lot lately and I know there are hundreds of things we need to figure out and there are a million and three reasons why you should just leave me again but..." she shook her head. "I never stopped loving you, Logan. Ever. And that's why I know this is all going to work itself out in the end. I am too much in love with you for us to be anything but together." She leaned in and captured his mouth with hers, relaxing as his arms went around her.

"Are you sure we can't just go back up to the room?" he groaned, leaning his forehead to hers. Her only response was to kiss him again and they stayed in the embrace until someone cleared their throat behind them. They sprang apart guiltily like, well, like two kids caught making out in a coat closet.

"Nice of you to make it, Son," Mitchum said dryly.

"Dad." The two men shook hands. "Well you know I love a good party. Happy anniversary."

"Yes, your mother's outdone herself again." He turned to Rory. "Great to see you again, Rory. Have you been well?" He leaned forward to kiss her cheek.

"I have been, thank you. And congratulations. Thirty years, Logan said?"

"Thirty long years," Mitchum said with smirk. "I feel obligated to tell you that-"

"Jen's here," Logan said. "Honor beat you to it."

"Well like I said, Shira's definitely outdone herself this time." Mitchum cleared his throat. "If you'll excuse me, I see some friends I need to greet. I will see you inside, and Rory." He winked. "Save me a dance, later. That should really make my wife's night." He turned back to Logan. "You have lipstick on your face."

"Looks like my dad doesn't hate you," Logan said mildly as Rory again wiped her make up from him. "There's one more person on our side." He took her hand and tucked it through his arm. "Ready?"

"Let's do this." Her eyes swept over the ballroom as they walked in, looking for everyone and no one in particular. "I don't see Shira."

"She's lying in wait," Logan said. "Just watch, she'll swoop in at the most inappropriate time to greet us." He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her deeper into his side. "Until then, I do see your grandparents and it looks as though they just spotted us." He steered her toward the elder couple.

"Rory!" Richard greeted her warmly, giving her a hug, "Emily said she didn't expect you to be here tonight, what a pleasant surprise."

"Hi Grandpa." She moved to give Emily a hug. "You didn't think I'd be here?"

"Hello Rory." Emily's voice was a touch cool. "I wasn't sure if the two of you were attending such public events yet."

"It's nice to see you again, Emily and Richard," Logan broke in. He shook hands with Richard and smiled charmingly at Emily. "And you should know better than to believe anything my mother has said about the two of us," he said with a wink.

"Well at least someone's telling me something," Emily said pointedly. She eyed her granddaughter warily. "You couldn't have worn a dress with sleeves?"

"Considering the tube top I had planned on wearing, this is pretty much as conservative as it gets, Grandma," Rory remarked dryly. Logan squeezed her hand again.

Emily sniffed. "I just don't see any reason for the two of you to encourage the things being said," she said finally.

"Emily," Richard warned, but Logan cut him off.

"I think Rory looks beautiful tonight but then again, I always do." He gave Emily a pointed look. "And the two of us are too happy to be enjoying each others company again too much to concern ourselves with what other people are saying about us, Emily. Anyway, what _are_they saying?"

Emily opened her mouth to answer, but as Rory reached her hand up to brush a strand of hair away she gasped, forgetting what she was going to say. "What is this? She asked, grabbing her hand and inspecting the ring. "Richard, do you see this?"

"It's a beautiful cut," Richard remarked. "I always liked a nice black diamond. I wish you'd wear the ones I gave you more often."

"But it's.. it's.. is it what I think it is?" Emily sputtered. Finally, Rory had enough and pulled her hand away, returning it to slide against Logan's.

"Logan gave it to me last week," was all she said. She turned to look at him out of the corner of her eye. "I could really use a drink." she said honestly.

"Don't let us keep you," Richard jumped in quickly. "We will see you later I'm sure, go on, enjoy the party with your friends." He smiled as the two walked away and toward the bar.

"Well, Grandma thinks I'm a slut," she said after her first sip of champagne. The alcohol warmed her and she laughed. "And your driver thought I was a hooker, so maybe I am dressing in the wrong clothes?"

"Stop it." Logan took her empty glass and handed her another full one. "Let's go easy on the drinks though, I don't think I've seen you eat once today." He leaned in and kissed the corner of her mouth. "I don't want you passing out before I get a chance to have my way with you."

"Is that all you can think about today?" She tried to sound put out, but her smile betrayed her.

"It is when you're in that dress."

"So I do look slutty!"

"Not even a little bit," he promised her. He kissed her again. "But I wouldn't be against you acting slutty once we're back upstairs." At that, she chuckled and felt herself responding to his kiss.

"Logan, there you are!" Shira's voice came from behind them and they pulled apart. "Honor told me she had seen you come in but that was nearly twenty minutes ago."

"We looked for you, Mom, but I couldn't find you." He submitted himself to the hug she insisted on. "You look great Mom, happy anniversary."

"Thank you." She moved her attention to Rory. "Hello Rory," she said.

"Shira." She smiled patiently. "It's a lovely party. Congratulations." _Best wishes my ass,_she thought to herself.

"Yes thank you." She surveyed the crowd. "Its a wonderful turn out, everybody's here."

"So I hear," Logan said. "Really Mom? You invited Jen?"

"Months ago when the two you were still together. How was I supposed to know that she would still insist on coming?" Shira avoided her son's eyes.

Logan just shook his head. "I see a few people we need to go and say hi to. We'll be around." He smiled tightly at Shira before steering Rory away. If either of them noticed the unhappy look on Shira's face as they left, they didn't let on.

He pressed another drink into her hands as they passed a server and grinned as she raised her eyebrow to him. He just nodded his head toward a group of people and she understood. Finn, Rosemary, Colin, Seth, and Juliet were all standing off to the side. She tilted the glass back and swallowed it effortlessly. "Right then, let's go." She forced a smile onto her face as they walked over.

"I don't understand." Colin was frowning. "Did he give her an engagement ring? Someone gave her a rock, I saw her wearing it on the news."

"It's not an engagement ring," Rory and Logan spoke up at the same time, causing everyone in the circle to snap their heads up guiltily. There was a moment of tension and Rory's face broke out in a grin as she held her hand out for the group to inspect.

"Logan gave me a promise ring," she sing-songed gleefully as she fluttered her eyelashes. "Isn't he just the dreamiest boy _ever_, girls?"

"The dreamiest!" Rosemary and Juliet echoed. They all broke into laughter as the girls moved to embrace Rory. It had been over two years since they had last really seen each other and there were several moments of squealing and excited chatter and laughter before they all settled down again.

"For the record," Logan said as the laughter died down "It's not a promise ring either."

"Oh thank God," Colin said, rolling his eyes. "For a moment I was scared you'd gone soft on me, Logan."

"He never goes soft on me," Finn chimed in and everybody groaned. And just like that, the ice was broken and it was just like they all were back in college and hanging out on any Saturday night. The only exception was Finn, and the glares he kept shooting Rory's way. An hour later, and two more drinks in, Rory had had enough.

"You know Finn," she said as she leaned across the table, smirking at him. "Anytime now, you can cut the bullshit and either let it go, or have it out with me." She gave him an easy smile. "I'm okay with either option."

"Doll, you don't want to hear anything I have to say," he said moodily.

"Try me," she challenged. He just shook his head and stared into his drink. "Fine." She gave an irritated sigh and tipped her own glass, finishing it off in two giant swallows. "I need some air." She pushed her chair back and motioned for Logan and the girls to stay seated. "I'm fine, I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

"We'll go," Rosemary said quietly to Logan as she and Juliet got up from their seats. "By the way." She nodded just over Logan's left shoulder. "Jen's right over there."

"Thanks." Rosemary nodded as she and Juliet walked away from the table. She smacked the back of Finn's head as she passed him and kept on walking.

"Hey!" He rubbed his head and turned to Logan. "Well that was uncalled for."

"So is you being an ass to Rory. Quit being an ass." Almost immediately he heard unmistakable footsteps behind him and braced himself.

"Hello Logan," Jen drawled, dropping a hand to his shoulder as she walked around him. "Look at you, handsome as always."

"Jen." He removed her hand from his self and looked at her expectantly. "What are you doing here?"

"I was invited, silly. And it's rude not to show up when you've already RSVP'd."

"I think we would have understood this time."

"Well." She shrugged. "It's too late now, I'm here. May as well get used to it." She looked around. "So where is she? I'm dying to know, did she tell you about the little conversation we had?" She smiled charmingly at Finn. "Hello Darling." She turned back to Logan. "Come on, let's hear it. Let's hear how awful I was to poor poor Rory."

"Rory?" Rosemary and Juliet found her out in the foyer. "There you are, come on back. I promise to keep Finn from being such an ass."

Rory laughed. "He's fine, I just needed a break from the stares."

Juliet nodded. "You are the talk of the night," she agreed. She inspected the ring again. "Shira must hate you stealing her thunder like that."

"It's just a ring," Rory said. Both girls raised their eyebrows at her. "It is," she insisted, but her voice betrayed her and she found herself blinking back tears. Stupid champagne. Rosemary and Juliet shared a look before quickly ushering Rory out of the hallway and up to Finn and Rosemary's suite. There, they listened as the entire story spilled out right up until their fight this morning and the subsequent truce.

"Shit," Juliet said when Rory was finished. She shrugged at the look the other two gave her. 'Can you think of anything better to sum it up?"

Rory laughed. "I'm just so tired of the fighting," she admitted. "And we're not even fighting that much, it's just one long drawn out fight." She lifted her shoulders slightly. "But I can't seem to make myself give in, and Logan's even more stubborn than I am so here we are."

"If it makes you feel any better, we've all seen how he's looking at you tonight," Rosemary said. "And I can tell you he never looked at Jen like that. He was always waiting for you to come back, Rory."

"Jen." Rory made a face. "She's probably down there hitting on him right now."

"I don't think you need to be worried about her."

"I'm not, I just..." she shook her head. "I'm sorry, the two of you are friends, aren't you?"

"Not really," Rosemary said with a shrug. Impulsively, she leaned over and hugged Rory. "I'm so sorry Rory! I know that when Logan and you broke up we all kind of dropped of the face of the earth but..." She shook her head. "It was wrong, I'm sorry."

"It's fine," she insisted. "You're Logan's friends first; nobody expects you to stay friends with the ex-girlfriend."

"You're not just the ex-girlfriend," Juliet said. She looked back down at the ring pointedly.

"It's just a ring!"

"Right, and I'm going to eat everything that's put in front of me tonight at dinner," Juliet teased. "We've been gone awhile, we should probably get back down there before they send out a search party." With one last group hug the girls headed back downstairs to the ballroom.

As she expected, Jen had infiltrated their table. Much to the surprise of all three girls, she was perched on Colin's lap as she laughed and chatted with Finn.

"Oh I don't think so," Rosemary muttered, marching over to the table.

"Rory." Logan stood up as they made it back to the table. "I was getting worried, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, how's everyone here?" She smiled reassuringly at Logan as he slid an arm back around her waist. She wasn't sure if it was for her benefit or for Jen's but she was grateful for the contact regardless.

"Rory," Jen looked miffed. "I didn't realize you were still here."

"Where else would I be?" she asked as Logan pulled her chair out for her. She smiled and lifted her water glass to her lips, deliberately aiming the ring in Jen's direction.

Jen's eyes narrowed. For a moment, she appreciated Rory's move but it left her temporarily speechless. "Are congratulations in order?" she asked tightly.

"Congratulations are for the groom," Finn interjected. "Best wishes to the bride, isn't that right, Rory?" He offered her a wink and she flashed him a small smile. He leaned forward as Jen tried to find her voice. "Jen love, have you ever had the chance to meet Robert Grimaldi?" She frowned as she shook her head, no doubt racking her brain for information on the last name Grimaldi. "No? I should introduce the two of you, I think you'd get along quite smashingly He's just your type Darling. Rich." He stood and lifted Jen from Colin's lap. "Shall I point you in his direction then?" He gave Rory a genuine smile and mouthed a kiss at Rosemary before leading a still speechless Jen away from the table. The group sat in stunned silence for a moment before laughter won out.

Dinner passed without incident and though they still received a good amount of stares and they could see people whispering, somehow, Rory and Logan found themselves to be enjoying the party. Granted, Rory's enjoyment could have been coming from the things Logan was whispering in her ear as they danced mixed with all of the champagne she had consumed, but still, she was smiling more than not.

"I really think we should go back upstairs," Logan murmured as hand drifted dangerously low down her back. She reached behind and moved his hand back to her waist.

"Behave," she warned. He ignored her, pulling her even closer and letting his hand continue to roam. She would have protested further but she was just far enough on the side of drunk that she allowed it.

"So our grand re-entry into society," Logan mused. "Kind of anticlimactic, wasn't it?"

"It really was," she agreed. She smiled. "It was nice." They danced quietly for a few moments and then without warning, she stood on her toes and kissed him. "Still wanna get out of here?"

"Is that a joke?" She shook her head. "Finally!" He took her hand firmly in his and pulled her off of the dance floor toward the doors. They were greeted by catcalls and whistles as they passed the table their friends were at but he ignored them, leading her past everyone and out the doors without so much as a glance in anyone else's direction.

"Impatient?" she asked as he kissed her in front of the elevator door, reaching behind her to push the button for the elevator doors.

"I get you two nights a week, the other five I spend thinking about all of the things I'm going to do to you in those next two days. We're down to one day tomorrow and I don't want to waste any more time," Logan explained as he pushed her into the thankfully empty elevator. She stumbled, her back hitting the side wall as he advanced on her. "And you look goddamn delicious in that dress." He pushed the hair off of her neck as his lips found the one spot on her neck he knew to make her knees give out.

Rory bit the inside of her cheek as he bit into her shoulder lightly. It was borderline ridiculous; the amount of sex she and Logan had been having in the past month but she also knew from experience that the best part of long distance relationships really was the reunion sex. That, and they were still making up for nearly two years of lost time, she reasoned as Logan rose up on the balls of his feet and pressed into thigh.

And truthfully, it was just fun.

They were both laughing as the elevator reached their floor and they tumbled out, half running down the hall to their room.

"Think your parents will realize we left early?" she asked as he finally got the door opened and playfully pushed her inside. She squealed as he picked her up, scooping her up behind her knees and made his way to the bed with her. As he set her on the bed and then hooked his arm under her waist to pull her up to the head of the bed, she realized he hadn't even bothered to turn the lights on.

"Really not thinking about my parents right now," he whispered as he moved to drag the zipper of her dress down her side. She noticed his pants were already in a heap on the floor He bent his head to kiss her skin as it became exposed. "You shouldn't be either."

"Deal," she agreed. Her own hands were busy, her fingers working the buttons of his shirt through their holes before pulling it down his arms and leaving it at the foot of the bed. He lifted her back off of the bed, sliding the dress off of her body. She moved to kick her heels off but he stopped her, silently asking her to leave them on still. His dark eyes bore into her from the foot of the bed before he crawled forward again, slowly hooking her left leg over his shoulder. He pushed forward slowly, stretching the muscles in her leg before letting it fall slack. One hand slid over her torso to the edges of the white lace bra. God he loved her in white lingerie. It really was his favorite, and he always was sure to voice his approval when she wore it. Again, her back arched slightly and deftly, he reached underneath her to unfasten the garment, tossing it to the ground along with the rest of their clothing.

He liked her lingerie even better when it was lying on the floor.

"God I want you," he muttered, taking one last look at her lying there before leaning in to kiss the inside of her thigh. He smiled into her as he heard her head fall back against the pillow and her fingers found their way to tangle in his hair.

Rory hummed her appreciation as her eyes closed. She had never found anyone else who quite knew her body like Logan did and he definitely knew how to get her to react. After several long and torturous moments, his mouth finally found her and she gasped, slightly bucking up into him. It wasn't long before she was writhing beneath him, her free hand twisting in the sheet above her head. "Logan," she breathed, her voice carrying a warning.

Logan was completely consumed by her. As much as he loved getting her to come like this and though he was craving her mouth on him, the thought of feeling her come around him was quickly winning out. Quickly, before he could change his mind, he rose up and slid easily into her, relishing as always, just how hot and tight she always was.

"Yes," she sighed, running her hands up over his arms and across his shoulders and back. She gasped again as he moved her right leg this time, bringing it up over his shoulder, biting gently at the now exposed skin of leg, just behind her knee. She quickly adjusted to the new angle, finding herself again extremely close. She wasn't ready for this to end just yet, so she removed her leg from his grip and before he could react, had maneuvered them around until he was laying on his back beneath her, her hips straddling his stomach. This time it was Logan who gave his appreciation and encouragement in hushed tones as she moved herself further down his body. Her mouth lowered down onto him without warning and it was all he could do not to grab her by the hair and plunge himself deeper into her. He knew Rory would get there in her own time and he was more than happy to enjoy himself until she did.

Still, his hand tangled in the hair at the crown of her head and he wound his fingers through the curls lightly, knowing just how she liked her hair pulled. It was his favorite part of making love to her. Though it was never routine, never boring, they were both acutely aware of the little details on how to please each other.

"Ror." His voice was slightly above a whisper and she acknowledged him without stopping. He groaned and fell back again. He would have been perfectly content to lie there and let her work him over the way she was, but he still really just wanted to be inside her, not only when she came now, but when he did as well.

"Rory." His voice was stronger this time, and she lifted herself off of him, crawling up his solid frame until she could easily slide down onto him. She stopped just short and quirked an eyebrow at him when his head shot up from the pillow. He found her smirk incredibly sexy and matched it with one of his own. "Tease," he chastised, gripping her hips and pulling her down onto him. They both sighed this time as he filled her and she had to quick throw her arms around his neck to keep from falling back as he sat straighter up, driving even deeper into her. It didn't take long before they were both urging each other on. With a strangled groan, Logan came first, pressing his mouth to hers fiercely. She was only seconds behind and before long, they both fell back into the bed, exhausted but entirely sated.

He looked down at her and smoothed the hair out of her eyes. She gave him a sleepy smile and wrapped one arm around his neck as she kissed him. She extended her leg out behind him, noticing the heels she was still wearing. Without a word, he removed each of her shoes before folding her back into his arms and kissing her again.

"Happy?" she asked as her eyes began to get heavy. The champagne was finally getting the best of her and they both knew she'd be asleep within minutes.

"Definitely happy," he agreed. He was also fighting to stay awake but it was more from their recent activity then the alcohol. "You?"

"Very happy." Her words were getting softer as she buried her face into his chest. She mumbled something else but he could only faintly make out the words, one of them being _California_.

"What?" he asked, his eyes opening as he craned his head down to look at her. She was nearly asleep.

"I wanted to move to California," she said sleepily. "Wanted to be with you. Always like this. No one wants to hire me. Didn't want you to know. Thought you'd be disappointed...or mad." Her eyes fell shut with the last word and her breathing evened out before Logan even had time to process what she was saying. His own brain was feeling fuzzy and he was fighting to stay awake long enough to remember this part of their conversation but before he could commit it completely to memory, he found himself being lulled to sleep by a lethal combination of alcohol, exhaustion and the sound of Rory sleeping soundly in his arms.


	6. Discover Me Discovering You

**Author's Note: **I cannot believe that it has been ten years since John Mayer's cd Room For Squares was released. It's been TEN YEARS since I first heard this song, and even today, it's still one of my absolute favorites...not just of John Mayer's, but in general. And um, not going to lie, he totally made eye contact with me during a concert about seven years ago while singing this song so a connection was definitely made! I love every song I've used for this story, and combined into one great track listing, it really is the perfect summer soundtrack for laidback and easy days. Just saying. /end John Mayer gushing.

Oh, the story. Things move forward significantly here. Did you think things were wrapped up a little too easy in the last chapter in regards to all of the backlash they'd been facing? Oh, if only it were that simple! And, if you know where I came up with Rory and Logan's destination location, then either you're as awesome as I am, or you're really good with Google. Either way, thank you for reading and I hope you're still enjoying!

Remember last chapter when I said that I loved working a job where all I did was write all day? Apparently, I jinxed myself and became unbelievably busy. Then, I decided that I wasn't busy enough with work, so why not move into a new house over the weekend? So real life took priority for awhile and I really wanted to make sure this chapter was done right, so I figure, waiting a little over for a month for an update may not be so bad as long as its a quality update, right? And I hope that you agree.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six - Discover Me Discovering You (You Frustrate Me)<strong>  
><em>There's something about the way your hair falls in your face<br>I love the shape you take when crawling toward the pillowcase  
>You tell me where to go and though I might leave to find it<br>I'll never let your head hit the bed without my hand behind it ~ Your Body is a Wonderland_

Rory stretched languidly before falling back against the pillows propped up against the headboard. She laughed as she looked around the room. "Did we get a little carried away last night?" The immediate area surrounding the bed was practically in shambles.

"Last night, even later last night and again this morning." Logan smirked from where he was laying next to her. "I'm not even sure I can move. What did you do to me?"

"Oh yes, it was all me," she teased. Still, she winced as she rolled onto her side to face him. She was a little sore as well. "Are you complaining?" She rested her head on top of his chest and closed her eyes again.

"Not even a little bit." They lay there silently for a moment before he picked his head up slightly to look down at her. "We should take a vacation."

Her eyes popped back open. "Well that's random." She laughed. "Logan! We've pretty much been on vacation for the past two months, with all the traveling back and forth."

"Except we've been traveling back and forth and working in between and you're stressed and I'm stressed and doesn't an entire week away sound absolutely amazing? Two weeks, if you want." His hand slid easily down her back and she raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to continue. He smirked as he removed his hand. "We should think about it though. When was the last time you took a proper vacation?"

He may have had a point but she wasn't about to let him know that. Before she could say anything, his phone rang. She made a face. "It's nine on a Sunday morning, who could that be?"

"Shira, of course." he said, grabbing the phone off of the nightstand. She rolled her eyes as he answered the call. 'Hello Mom."

"What time did you leave the party last night, Logan? Really, this was an important night and you were gone before the dishes were cleared from the tables!"

"It was almost midnight when we left, not after dinner," Logan pointed out. Rory sighed and rolled away from him, climbing out of bed altogether. She was actually really sore from last night's rendezvous and was hoping a hot shower would ease some of her aches Plus, it would help to dull the slight champagne headache she was fighting as well. Logan reached for her but she was quicker, and with a smile she closed herself into the bathroom before she could hear any more of his conversation.

"You left early," Shira insisted. "And you're my son! How do you think that looks to everyone else?"

He sighed, already irritated with her. "Seeing as how everyone there looked at us like we were about to have sex on the dinner table I would assume to everyone it looked like I was taking my girlfriend upstairs where we could be alone." _And have sex on the table in here_, he added silently with a smirk.

"Oh that's another thing! Of course I knew you'd bring her along, but just what in the hell were you thinking, having her flaunt that ring around? Really Logan? So tacky."

"Tacky? Tacky is inviting my ex-girlfriend to attend! Would you like to talk about _that_, Mom?"

Shira sniffed indifferently. "I told you, Jen was invited when the two of you were still together. What was I supposed to do, uninvite her after she was so looking forward to attending?"

"Give me a break, no one is ever excited about attending these stupid parties!" Logan sighed. "I don't want her around any more Mom, understood?"

"I'm not her babysitter, I certainly can't speak for where she will and won't be. But enough about Jen, I'm not done talking to you about your little fling."

"Rory is not a fling!"

"Surely you haven't forgotten what she did to you! How she turned her back on you, the family name and everything that comes along with that. Come on, Logan. Don't you think it's time you stop acting like a teenager and grow up and behave responsibly?"

"I'm hanging up now."

Shira sighed. "The immaturity, it's getting very old, Logan."

"Well Mom, when you start behaving like an adult, so will I." He hung up before she could say anything else and rolled over, burying his face into the pillow, fighting the urge to scream. After a few minutes he got up, deciding to join Rory in the shower.

She smiled as she heard the shower curtain being drawn back but didn't bother to open her eyes. "I was wondering what was taking you so long," she said as she stepped to the side to give him more room. Finally she opened her eyes and looked at him. "How mad was she?"

He shrugged and reached behind her to grab a bottle of body wash off of the shelf. "She'll get over it, I'm not worried." She relaxed against him as he lathered up his hands and began to massage her back. "But enough about that, have I told you how amazing I think you are?"

"Once or twice," she murmured, twisting her head to the side to catch his mouth with hers. She pulled away at the playful wet smack that landed on her butt. "What?"

"What about me?" Logan asked with mock anger. "Aren't you supposed to tell me how amazing you think I am?"

"You're okay," she deadpanned, turning completely until she was facing him. His hands fell to her hips, resting there as she stepped even closer to him. She locked eyes with him briefly and nodded her head. "I could stand here and tell you how amazing you are until the shower runs cold."

"That sounds like a good time," Logan mused. His grip tightened on her hips as her mouth fell to the tendon that connected his neck and shoulders. "This isn't bad either," he acknowledged as she moved to rain kisses over his chest.

"Just in case there's any doubt," she said, pulling away to look him in the eye again. "I think you're the most amazing man I've ever met in my entire life." She kissed him hard on the mouth before sliding down to her knees in front of him, never once breaking eye contact with him. He was about to open his mouth to respond but it promptly fell shut as she leaned forward to take him in her mouth, as he was content to let her continue to show him just how amazing she really could be.

"Jesus!" Rory's shriek sent Logan running back into the room with her and they both stood there, staring at Finn, as he had taken up residence on the unmade bed. "How long have you been in here?"

"Long enough." He looked around the room pointedly. "What happened here last night?"

"Nothing," Logan said. "How did you get in?"

Finn rolled his eyes. "Show me a room in any hotel that I can't get into, especially when I'm on home territory." He shook his head. "Rosemary's sleeping off a wicked hangover and I wanted to come over to apologize, but the two of you were..." He shrugged. "Fucking in the shower, from the sounds of it."

Rory closed her eyes, acutely aware of and thankful for the towel she had wrapped herself in. "I"m going to get dressed," she muttered. Grabbing her clothes from the dresser, she locked herself back into the bathroom.

"So things seem to be going well" Finn commented mildly. "Good to see, especially since Rosemary mentioned some lingering tensions between the two of you."

Logan shrugged, but he was interested in knowing what all Rosemary knew. "There's always tension in a long distance relationship," he pointed out.

"So get rid of that part of it. Quit being long distance."

"Really, hadn't thought of that," Logan deadpanned. "What would we ever do without your brilliant guidance?"

"Let's hope no one ever needs to find out," Finn agreed seriously.

"Find what out?" Rory emerged from the bathroom again, fully dressed this time.

"What life without me would be like." Finn rose up onto his knees on the bed and patted the mattress next to him, waiting for her to sit. "Rory, I've come to apologize for what a bastard I've been. And you should know," he held his hands up in defense. "I would have apologized even if Rosemary hadn't told me to, I was already planning on it." He paused and bowed his head. "I am sorry, you didn't deserve the things I may have said about you these past two years." He looked up at her briefly. "Please don't ask me to repeat them. Just know, I am truly very sorry and I hope that you and I can become good friends again?"

Rory smiled at the man sitting next to her and shrugged nonchalantly. "Well life is always more fun when you're around," she said as she nudged him in the shoulder. "And you did manage to get Jen away from Logan last night," she pointed out. "That's reason enough to be friends, I think."

Finn looked sideways at Logan. "She's charming as always, isn't she?" He raised himself up from the bed and clapped the blonde man on his shoulder. "I need to get back to my lady before she wakes up, we have some of our own shower excursions to attend to. Rory doll," he blew her a kiss. "I'm glad we're back to good." Just as quickly as he'd intruded on their morning, he was gone.

"Good to see some people don't change," she remarked dryly. Logan laughed and sat down next to her on the bed. He was about to kiss her when both of their phones rang simultaneously. "Huh, I thought that only happened on tv," Rory mused as she leaned across to grab her phone off the table. She sighed. "It's my mom."

Logan looked at his. "Dad," he replied. Sighing in unison they each answered their phones, both being swept into a variance of the same conversation about the previous night.

"Well grandma wasn't exactly pleasant either!" Rory said defensively, nearly fifteen minutes later. Her headache was slowly coming back. She cupped her hand over the receiver and turned to Logan, who was ending his own phone call. _Help me_, she mouthed pleadingly. "Mom. Mom. No Mom, it's not. No! Oh my God, stop!" She was surprised when Logan grabbed the phone from her hand.

"Lorelai," he said brightly. There was a pause and then he winced. "Well no, I can honestly say no one's ever called me that name before. It is a good one, you're right. I will, I'll remember it for future use. No, no it's not an engagement ring." He rolled his eyes at Rory and mouthed the word _seriously _at her. Rory just threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "It's not. No, I know she would have said no if I had asked her. That's why I didn't ask her. It was a gift. Just a gift. A ring can be a just-because gift." He was now arguing with Lorelai. "Well, if you like, I could talk to Luke about that. No, I swear, it's not an engagement ring. Hey, how's this? How about, when I do ask Rory to marry me, and she says yes, you're the first person we call?" Rory smacked him across the chest. "I am serious! Yes, I do plan on asking her again. No, I don't know when. When I think she'll say yes, how's that? Well, it has to be good enough, it's the only answer I have." He held the phone away from his ear so they both could hear Lorelai's high-pitched ranting. "Lorelai?" He brought the phone back to his ear. "Lorelai? I think the phone battery is about to die, you're breaking up. Hello? Lorelai? Hello?" He abruptly hit the end button on the phone before swiftly turning it over and easily removing the battery.

Rory stared at him. "You think that's going to stop her?"

"No,but it'll give us a few minutes." He removed the battery from his phone as well.

She sighed, holding her hand out in front of her. "We'd have been better off if this was really an engagement ring," she said dryly. She laughed at his raised eyebrow. "Don't get any ideas, I'm just saying, people are really doubting this whole 'just a gift' thing we've got going on."

Logan pulled her down onto the bed and crawled on top of her. "Anytime you want me to trade that ring for a proper diamond, all you have to do is tell me," he reminded her, dipping his head to drop his mouth to her collarbone. He was surprised at how quickly she melted beneath him, molding her body to his, He looked down at her and raised an eyebrow again. "Seriously?"

She laughed. Threading her hands through his hair she nodded and brought her lips up to his. "Seriously," she confirmed. "What else is there to do in New Haven on a Sunday morning?" Her fingertips danced over his skin as they kissed slowly. Truthfully, she had missed mornings like this more than anything. For the past two years, any time they had together was constantly rushed, tense, and usually ended in anger. She shivered as his hands worked the tank top she'd just thrown on back over her head. "You leave soon" she murmured, remembering suddenly that he was flying back to California that day. Without warning tears sprang to her eyes. She was so damned tired of saying goodbye.

"We have time," he promised. "Hey, what's this?" he asked, noticing her bright eyes.

"It's stupid," she said, shaking her head. "It's not getting any easier to say goodbye to you every Sunday," she finally said. "I just wish I could..." she stopped, rolling onto her side as Logan moved from on top of her to next to her.

"Wish you could what?"

She shook her head again. She had refrained from telling Logan about her failed attempts at relocating to California for the past two weeks and this definitely was not the time to bring it up. "Keep you here," she lied quickly, diverting her eyes. She really had tried her best to avoid all conversations having anything to do with the distance between them because she knew it would lead to her telling him the only thing keeping her from moving to be with him was the fact that she couldn't find a job. She knew what he would say. He would tell her to move anyways, that she could find a job later, that Mitchum could help. All of the things she didn't want. At least, she didn't think she did.

Logan stared at her strangely for a moment. There was something he was supposed to remember that was related to this conversation. "I can't stay," he said finally. "But you know I want to, and that I would if I could get away with it."

"I know." She leaned over and kissed him again, fitting one of her legs between his, "This is almost worse than London, isn't it?" she asked into his chest. "It kills me, knowing you're only a couple of hours on a plane away."

He sighed. He knew exactly what she meant. "Come away with me," he asked again. "For two weeks just you and me, no distractions, no family, no phones. Please?" He felt her body tense as she considered his offer. "You know I'll make it worth your while," he teased lightly, his hand reaching up to trace over her body. She leaned forward to kiss him and he knew he almost had her. Pulling away, he raised himself to a sitting position and brought her into his lap. "Rory, we need this," he said seriously. "This, this thing we've been doing here for the last few months, it's great and I'd never turn down a chance to see you, but it's not right. It's not enough."

"It's not dating," she agreed.

"Exactly. It's like we're still hiding from everyone, that we're meeting for clandestine weekends and then hopping back on planes heading back to our two very separate lives." He was relieved when she nodded. "But more importantly, we need the time together. We need to relearn each other, we need to have those talks we keep putting off having, we need to figure out what we're doing, but really Ace, we just need to be able to enjoy each other and not have to worry about keeping an eye on the clock so we don't miss our flights."

"Okay," she agreed, slipping her arms around his neck.

"Okay?" Logan echoed. He cocked his head to the side. "I wasn't expecting you to agree so quickly, I had a whole list of reasons to persuade you with."

She nodded, bringing her lips against his throat. "Okay," she repeated. "And you had me when you used the word clandestine," she teased.

"That's my girl, always a fan of the big words." He curved an arm around her back, bracing her as he leaned her down against the bed again. Very few words were spoken between them as they made quick work of removing the little clothing they were still wearing. It wasn't long at all before he was again buried deep inside of her. It wasn't about attraction or desire this time; instead it was purely the two of them needing to be as close to each other as they could before they had to leave again. To feel connected for as long as they could while they still could.

Looking into her eyes, Logan knew that the distance was beginning to wear on Rory as much as it was on him, and while he wanted nothing more to talk to her once again about moving to California, he couldn't bring himself to ruin he moment. It would only cause yet another argument, but he couldn't help but feel there was something he was supposed to know.

* * *

><p>Rory looked down at her phone for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last ten minutes. Still no calls. She had arrived at the hangar before Logan and had just settled herself into the now-familiar private jet. Logan had texted her minutes ago, saying he was about five minutes away and then they would be off for parts unknown, as Logan had opted not to tell her the location of their getaway.<p>

It had been three weeks since they had agreed to go away, and they hadn't been able to see each other at all during that time. They had simply become too busy and real life had gotten in the way. There had been nightly phone calls and countless texts and emails, but both had become painfully aware of just how unrealistic the parameters of their relationship had become with them living on separate coasts.

Rory checked her phone again. Three days ago, she had almost been forced to cancel the trip altogether, even though she had known exactly just how well that would have gone over. Wednesday morning after the show, her executive producers had called her into a meeting to express their displeasure with her increasingly frequent trips. Their numbers went down when she wasn't co-hosting, and they were starting to suffer in several markets. Naturally, they weren't impressed that she was taking off for two entire weeks this time, and before she knew it, the term contract renegotiation was being thrown around and she immediately had referred the rest of the conversation to her agent, Malcolm. He had assured her there wasn't anything to worry about, that she was by far, the most popular morning host the station had had in years and there wasn't any danger of them buying out the rest of her contract and kicking her to the curb.

That had been two days ago, and so far, she still had no word from Malcolm other than several texts that said they were still negotiating. He had encouraged her to go ahead with the trip, that all would be settled by the time she came back, but she still felt uneasy about the whole thing. So much so, that she had almost called Logan and backed out of the trip completely.

But she hadn't. In fact, she hadn't even told Logan that this trip was putting her job on the line. She knew she should have been upfront and honest with him, but given his penchant for trying to fix things on his own, and hers to shun any kind of help whatsoever, she had decided to keep her mouth shut, and keep him in the dark until it was all over. And if Malcolm was right in what he was telling her, then there was really no reason for both her and Logan to worry the entire trip.

"You're staring at that phone awful hard there, Ace. Waiting for someone special to call?" She gave a start at the sound of his voice and smiled as he walked into the cabin. She jumped up and ran over, throwing her arms around his neck. Logan's own arms went easily around her and he chuckled into her hair. "Well hello there, stranger," he said, holding her tight.

"Hi." Her voice was muffled against his shirt but she didn't move from his embrace for a long time. Finally, she pulled back and looked up at him. "Where are we going?"

He laughed and shook his head. "You'll see when we get there. Don't worry, you'll love it," he promised. "Right now I just want to look at you." He pointedly gave her a lingering once-over before pulling her in for another kiss. "Three weeks is too long to be apart from you."

"It won't happen again," she agreed,

"God, I hope not." He looked around the plane. "I think we're about ready to take off, do you have everything? Ready to disappear for the next two weeks?"

"You have no idea," she said. Logan frowned, fully taking in her appearance. Rory had sounded off in their last couple of phone calls. Not just exhausted, but almost evasive and he knew there were several instances where he had walked a fine line in his questioning and narrowly missed coming to blows.

The last three weeks hadn't been exactly peaceful for him either; there had been no less than 6 major shake-ups in the office and all of the work had been falling onto his shoulders. Not that he minded really, but it was a lot for any one person to handle. And then there had been a run-in or two with Jen that were purely accidental, but he hadn't bothered to mention to Rory. No use in upsetting her over something that didn't matter, but still, he worried that it would somehow get back to her.

And then there was the blind item Honor had forwarded him from her latest gossip magazine. _Fan favorite brunette being fired due to jetsetting ways. _As Honor pointed out, it just as easily could be a Kardashian sister, but it was hard not to wonder if there was more that Rory wasn't telling him.

"Logan?" He blinked as Rory snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Where did you go?" she asked, a smile settling over her features.

He shook his head. "Just thinking about the next two weeks," he said. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

She shook her head. "Not important." Their lips met again and they parted only when the pilot came in, clearing his throat and letting them know that they were about to depart.

"So seriously," Rory said as they buckled themselves in and the jet began its ascent. "Where are we going?"

"You used to like surprises."

"I never liked surprises!" she protested. Her eyes fell to her phone again. Nothing.

"Everything okay?" Logan nodded at the phone.

She forced a smile onto her face and slid the phone into her purse. "Perfect," she declared. "Now, where are we going?"

Twenty five hours and a layover in Dubai later, they had finally arrived at their destination. Stepping out into the bright sunlight, Rory's mouth fell open as she took in her surroundings. Logan appeared next to her and took her hand in his. "So, how did I do?"

"Where are we?" It was obvious that they were on an island but beyond that, she had no idea as to their exact location.

Victoria, Seychelles, she would learn just moments later. The only thing she knew about the island country was that it was extremely secluded, that the privacy of its guests was of the utmost importance. A factor she was sure Logan had based his choice on. "It's absolutely gorgeous," she breathed. And it was.

"This doesn't look like a hotel," she mused as Logan pulled their car into the drive of a modest-sized bungalow.

"You need to stop asking questions," he said mildly, turning the car off. "We could have stayed at a hotel, but I figured a house was a little more private. Especially one with a secluded beach off the back patio." He opened her car door for her. "But if you like, we can go to one of the hotels in town. It's tourist season, there should be plenty of us stupid Americans running about."

"Shush." She planted a quick kiss on his lips. "This is perfect. Absolutely perfect."

"I'll show you perfect." Before she could protest, he lifted her easily into his arms and carried her inside. After a few wrong turns and several peals of laughter from her, they finally found the master suite, and he carried her over to the open balcony and finally set her on her feet. "How's that for perfect?" He asked, gesturing with his hand. Directly below the balcony was their own private grotto, and beyond that, a stretch of private beach with the most spectacular view Rory had ever seen.

"How did you find this place?" she asked once she had found her voice.

Logan shrugged. "I know people." He grinned. "Do you love it?"

"I love it," she confirmed, slipping her arms around his neck. "I am so happy to be here with you, I want you to know that."

"I'm happy too." He pulled her away from the balcony and edged them toward the bed.

She quirked an eyebrow at him. "What are you doing?"

He shrugged, bringing her to the edge of the bed. "Just wanted to make sure the bed was comfortable enough," he explained. "It would be a shame if it wasn't."

"I thought we were coming here so we could talk," she teased as he lifted her onto the bed. "Not just so we could have sex all day long."

"We'll talk," he promised. "About anything and everything and for as long as you want but right now?" He winked. "We should probably do something about the jetlag we'll be feeling pretty soon."

"You're impossible!" she admonished, but didn't put up a fight as he lifted her to the top of the bed near the pillows.

"You love every bit of it."

It was hard to argue with him.

* * *

><p>"So much for talking," Rory teased lightly. She rolled over and brought her lips against Logan's. They had been on the island for three days and had barely left the bedroom, let alone the house.<p>

"You love it." Logan reminded her as he stretched and rolled over onto his side. "It's still early, we could go out if you wanted?"

She shook her head, not really wanting to put the energy into getting dressed to go out. "Maybe a swim?" she suggested instead. "We could check out more of the shoreline than what's actually just behind the house."

"Sounds good," Logan agreed. He swung his legs over the bed and pulled on a pair of shorts. "Why don't you get ready and I'll head down to the kitchen and see what kind of snacks we have left."

"We may have to leave here tomorrow and so some shopping," she said with a sigh. Truthfully, she loved that they had been so secluded the last couple of days. She gave him a smile as he left the room and lay there for a moment longer before finally pulling herself out of bed.

It felt almost strange to have clothing on again, but nevertheless, she changed into a sundress and quickly ran a brush through her hair.. As she slid her feet into sandals, her eyes drifted over to the desk where her laptop was. She chewed on her lower lip for a second before walking over and turning it on. It wouldn't hurt to quick check her email and see if Malcolm had any news for her.

Turns out he did. Forty three emails in the last three days. She frowned, knowing this couldn't be good. Her frown deepened and her heart caught in her throat as she saw the subject line of the most recent email, sent not ten minutes ago.

"Get home now or it's over?" Logan read aloud from over her shoulder.

She jumped, slamming the computer shut. "You scared me," she said, forcing a smile onto her face.

"Sorry. What did Malcolm mean?" he asked. "What's over?"

She rolled her eyes. "Contract negotiating," she said quickly. "He's being overdramatic, as always."

"I didn't realize your contract was up." Logan frowned. "Are you okay? There's no danger of losing your job, is there?"

She shrugged. "It's tv, there's always a chance," she said lightly. "But no, I'm not in any danger, I promise." The lie came out before she could stop it and she wasn't entirely sure why.

"Are you sure?"

"I"m sure," she promised, standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. "I"m starving, why don't we go out for dinner before going to the beach?"

"Rory, are you su-"

"Logan, it's fine," she snapped. "Look, I didn't give you any grief when you spent twenty minutes checking your work email yesterday, did I?"

He blinked. "No, but if you did, by all means, let's hear it."

She shook her head. "I was just checking my email," she said softly. "Everything is fine, I don't want you worrying about it, because I'm not. I promise." She linked her arm through his and lead him out of the bedroom. "I really am starving, come on, let's go."

Logan gave her a long look and finally just nodded his head. "Okay, let's go." He let the subject drop until they were halfway through dinner.

"So," he said, placing his wineglass down and looking across the table at her. "Are we ever going to talk about those audition tapes I found?"

She froze, her fork halfway to her mouth. "I sent some tapes out, yes," she said carefully.

"To California?"

"Of course." She looked perplexed. "Where else would I have sent them?"

"So why not tell me?"

"Because I wanted to see what was out there before bringing anything up to you. I wanted to know if I had options."

"You want to move to California?"

She tilted her head to the side. "I want to be with you," she said finally. "You have to know that." Her face fell slightly. "Don't you?"

"It's hard to tell sometimes," he said honestly. "I mean, really Ror, you've been resisting the idea of moving to California for two years."

She bristled at this even though she knew he was speaking the truth. "I want to be with you," she said again. "At least I'm looking into ways of making that happen."

He shook his head and spoke calmly, even though his eyes snapped angrily. "Don't do that," he warned. "Don't get defensive the minute I ask you a question, or we'll never get through a single conversation this week. Do you really want to sit there and tell me I'm not trying to make us work?"

She looked down at her plate guiltily. "No," she said quietly. "I'm sorry." She paused and took a drink from her water glass. "I sent the tapes out that way to see what my options were," she reiterated. "I haven't heard much back yet, but I also knew that by sending the tapes out, I would have leverage once my contract negotiating came up." She lifted her eyes back to his. "I hate how far apart we are from each other, I want us in the same place more than you can imagine. But it can't happen until I have a plan in place."

"Why not?" Logan pressed. "Rory, come to California. There's nothing stopping you!"

She shook her head. "You're not going to support me," she said. "I don't want that, I don't want to do anything that gives your family any more ammunition against me."

"Fuck them," he said dismissively.

She laughed incredulously. "Easy for you to say, you're not the one everyone currently hates," she pointed out. "Please." She reached over and laid her hand on top of his. "Isn't knowing that I'm trying to get there enough for now?"

It wasn't, not by a long shot and if he really thought about it, her words only opened up a thousand more questions that he wanted to ask about their future but he kept his mouth shut. He looked down at their hands, running his thumb over her ring. "You still want to go to the beach?" he asked finally.

She nodded, curling her fingers around his. "Let's go," she agreed.

They were a couple hundred yards down the beach when Logan broached the subject again. "Are you saying you'll only move to California if you have a job?" He was trying to understand her reasoning.

"I need to be able to work," she said after a moment of thinking. "I didn't think you'd have a problem with that."

"I don't," he replied. "I get what you're saying."

"You just don't like it."

"I didn't say that either," he protested. He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Forget it, trying to talk to you is worse than talking to my dad sometimes. You give half answers and dance around the subject and tell me only what you think will get me off of your back. I don't know why I thought it would be any different this time."

"Logan!" She reached for his hand but he pulled away. "Wow, okay." She sighed. "I don't know what you want me to say," she said finally. "You've known all along that I'm not ready to get married. You've known that I'm reluctant to leave New York to move clear across the country without having any type of safety net. Those are both true statements." She grabbed for his arm this time and forced him to look at her. "But you also know how much I love you and how much I want to be with you. You know that too, Logan."

He shook his head. "You keep saying it, but that doesn't mean I believe it."

She laughed harshly. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that when you love someone, you do what you can to be with them, you don't just talk about it and wait for something miraculous to happen. You make it happen."

"I"m trying," she said through gritted teeth.

"Well maybe you're not trying hard enough."

She stared at him for a long moment and dropped her hand from his arm. "I'm not doing this," she said quietly. She turned on her heel, nearly tripping in the sand as she did, and started in the direction of their house.

"Go ahead, run away like always Rory, it's not going to change a damn thing."

"Oh what do you know anyway?" she snapped. "You're the one who ran away two years ago."

This time he was the one who grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him. "Are you really not past that Rory?" he asked, staring hard into her eyes. "Because we're past that now. If you're not, then we have a hell of a lot more problems to worry about than the issue at hand and you're going to have to decide real quick if that's a battle you want to have."

She lowered her eyes under his stare. "It was a low blow, I didn't mean it," she said quietly. "I'm sorry."

He nodded and released her wrist. He sighed and stared out at the Indian Ocean. "Let's get back," he said finally, nodding in the direction of their house. "It's getting late." She fell into step next to him and they walked the rest of the way back in silence.

Shortly after arriving home, they found themselves in bed, each pretending to be preoccupied with a book. She would have thought nothing of it if not for the miles of space between them on the king-sized mattress. The silence was broken only by the sound of pages turning and the slight rustling of the sheets as their weight shifted on either sides of the bed. It became crystal clear to Rory that she truly had upset Logan this time around and that he wasn't interested in making up any time soon. Eventually, the stilted silence became too much for her and she feigned falling asleep just to escape it.

Fake sleep eventually gave way to genuine sleep because the next thing she knew, she was awakened by Logan taking her book from her hands. Her eyes fluttered and briefly locked with his as he cradled her head, first pulling out the extra pillow from beneath her and then laying her against the remaining one. His hands lingered on her, one finger trailing down her neck before curling slightly into her hair before he moved on. She held her eyes closed as he moved the sheet to cover her and then she felt him return to his side of the bed, his eyes still on her. She wasn't sure how long they stayed in those positions, but after some time she heard him climb out of bed and leave the room.

She counted to ten before opening her eyes and sitting up slightly. She heard the downstairs door click and a few beats later, the telltale sounds of Logan diving into the pool. Stealing a glance at the clock, she realized it was nearly three in the morning, she had to have been asleep for quite some time without realizing it.

Rory slid out of bed and walked over to the open balcony to look down at the grotto below. It was dark, save for a few lights scattered throughout the pool and she couldn't help but feel like a voyeur as she watched Logan's well-toned and nude body slice through the water crisply. She watched him swim several laps and when it appeared he wasn't going to be finished anytime soon she slid one of his dress shirts over her shoulders and quietly trekked downstairs herself.

She stepped carefully through the door and toed her way to the far side of the pool. If he noticed her, he didn't let on. Gingerly, she lowered herself down until she was sitting on the edge, her bare legs dangling into the cool water. A few minutes later, he swam over to her, coming to rest between her legs and bracing his arms on either side of her on the deck. She leaned forward and pressed her forehead to his without saying anything. Droplets of water from his hair rained over her collarbone and she shivered without moving away.

"I"m sorry," she whispered, placing her palms on either side of his face. "I'm so sorry." She felt the tension radiating off of him still and she closed her eyes, her lashes bumping into his nose. She took a deep breath, not realizing the words she was about to say until they spilled out. "I want it, I do. You and me in California. You and me in Stars Hollow, or Miami; hell, Fargo, North Dakota if that's where you want to end up. Logan, I'm so tired of running away, I'm done. I'm ready." Her voice never went above a whisper and he was so quiet she wasn't sure he had heard what she was trying to tell him. Her left hand fell from his cheek and curved around his neck. "You and me, Logan. Wherever and however, I'm going to make this work."

His hands tightened around hers and he nodded against her. She relaxed, letting out a shaky breath she hadn't realized she was holding and she nodded too. Tilting his head towards hers, she pressed her lips to his. "I love you," she murmured, not taking her mouth away. She never wanted to see that look again in his eyes; the one that was the perfect cutting mixture of hurt, anger and disappointment. Her tongue traced across the outline of his lips, waiting for him to grant her access, which he did just seconds later. His arms went around her waist, gripping her as he pulled her into the water with him, her legs wrapping around his waist along the way.

Logan knew better than to fully believe her. Every thread of common sense he had was warning him of the very likely chance that she again was just saying words he wanted to hear, but another part of him had hope. The mood around them was different and in this moment, her eyes didn't have the traces of fear they normally held. For the first time in a long time, she had been the one to come to him.

Rory's eyes snapped open as she finally realized she was no longer on the deck but in the pool. She struggled to get her footing but he held her against him. He laughed then, his body relaxing for the first time in hours.

"You're fine," he chuckled, leaning back into the water, pulling her on top of him. "I got you."

Instinctively her feet kicked out, trying to find the bottom of the pool but as his words sunk in, she realized he was right.

Even when she lost her footing, he had her. He always did.

* * *

><p>"Where the hell have you been? I've been emailing you every hour for days, Rory." Malcolm's tone of voice did little to comfort Rory. It was the following afternoon and she had just gotten the opportunity to call her agent.<p>

"Well, I'm sorry, Mal. I'm halfway across the world and have limited phone service. Oh, and there's that whole little bit where I'm on vacation. You know, the one you told me to take and not worry about anything else? What happened to that?" She looked over her shoulder, checking to see if Logan had come back yet. One of their neighbors had come over an hour ago to let them know that a storm was brewing over the water and would likely hit that evening. Logan had decided to go into town to get supplies should they need them, but Rory had opted to stay back at the house, knowing she needed to check in back home.

"So what did they decide?" she asked, wandering through the house. "A six month extension? A year?"

"You're done."

She froze. "Done?" she repeated.

"Done," he said again. "You were considered a risk to the ratings, Kid. You were far too popular, and the numbers dropped significantly when you weren't there. And you taking off for two weeks didn't exactly inspire confidence with the network."

"You told me to go!" She cried. "I'm done? When is my last day?"

"Your contract was canceled effectively immediately. No farewell date, Rory."

"Sonofa-" she sighed. "Well now what am I going to do?"

"Boston has expressed interest. It's a slightly smaller market, but I think I could get you the morning chair, I just need you to com-"

"No," she said automatically. "California is where you need to get me. Palo Alto preferably."

Malcolm laughed. "Cali? Rory, you can't be serious."

"I am. Why is this funny?" She wandered over to the window, amazed at the dark grey and green clouds that were swirling over the ocean. Her eyes narrowed as Malcolm continued to talk. "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" She listened and then without a word, disconnected the call. She'd heard all she needed to.

She was still standing in front of the bay windows when Logan came back, the door slamming shut behind him.

"Hey," he said, setting the bags down on the table and walking over to her. "The wind is really picking up out there, I don't think it's long at all before the rain starts. From what I hear, it's supposed to be a fantastic lightning show."

"Great," she murmured, not really hearing him. She watched as the sky grew even darker.

Logan frowned. "Are you okay, Ace? You're looking a little pale."

"I..." she turned and faced him. She had already promised herself there would be no more secrets between them and now was as good a time as any to start that off. "I just lost my job."

"Ace." He folded her into his arms. "What happened? I thought you said you'd be okay."

"I guess I was wrong." She rested her head on his shoulder.

"What happened?" he asked again.

She shrugged. "I'm a risk to the ratings." She could tell he was confused so she sighed and continued on. "The network wasn't happy with all of the time I'd taken off recently because the ratings would go down on those days. Me taking off for two weeks didn't exactly help the situation either."

He pulled away. "So wait? You lost your job because of this trip? Did you know that was a possibility? Why didn't you say something? We could have postponed this, you know that!"

"No we couldn't have," she protested. "Neither of us would have been okay with canceling the trip, _you _know that!"

"But your job..."

She shrugged. "It's fine, Logan. I mean, yeah it sucks, but I meant what I said last night. I'm ready to move to California. This makes it that much easier."

"But you also said you wanted a job before you could move out there."

"So now I have more time to work on finding one. Malcolm's already on it," she said dismissively. The lights flickered as the wind picked up outside and she moved to start lighting the candles they had set out earlier, just in case.

"No network in California wants you!" They both froze at his words and Rory turned around slowly, staring hard at her boyfriend.

"What did you just say?"

He hesitated. "I said no network in California wa-"

"Who told you that?" She demanded.

"You did!" The words were out before he could stop them but in that instant he remembered everything from the night of his parents' anniversary party. He remembered clear as day Rory confiding that exact sentiment to him just before she drifted off to sleep. He could see realization dawning in her eyes as she too, remembered that moment.

"Nobody wants me," she admitted. "I'm not California. I'm not blonde and perky and all Baywatch-y. I'm too East Coast for the major networks." It felt good to finally confess all of this to him. His arms encircled her again and she let him hold her for a moment.

"We'll figure it out," he said finally. "The networks would be crazy not to snap you up now that you're a free agent. I'm sure that once you're out there and they can see you in person that-" He was interrupted as she jerked back out of his grasp and spun on her heel, walking back toward the windows. Big fat raindrops had just begun falling from the sky. "What?" he asked.

"Do you want to know why no station in California is offering me a spot?" She barely recognized her voice as she spoke.

"Because they're too blind to see what an amazing co-anchor you'll be?"

She shook her head, turning slowly to look at him. "Jen Buckner is quite the PR girl, isn't she? She knows all the right people."

Jen. He should have known better. "Rory, I-"

"And do you want to know the best part?" She laughed coldly, shaking her head and meeting his gaze head-on. "Jen could lie all she wanted, she could have told them any story she wanted about me, but she didn't have to make up a damn thing. No one likes a scandal, Logan, not when you're supposed to be warm and inviting and welcoming yourself into the homes of families, no. People don't want their news from some slutty homewrecker."

"Rory, stop. You're not-"

"Ten minutes ago, I'd have agreed with you," she said. "But I just got off the phone with Malcolm and he confirmed it." She turned back to the window just in time to see a huge streak of lightning, accompanied by the loudest crack of thunder she had ever heard.

"I can't get a job in California because of you and me."

And that's when the lights went out, throwing the two of them into complete darkness.


	7. Cross the Line

**Author's Note: **A little bit of a shorter chapter, but it's pretty well packed, if I do say so myself. We're just over halfway through this story now and I like to think of this chapter as the end of Act One. Hopefully it leaves you excited to see what happens in Act Two. Also, thank you for the reviews last chapter – a few of you were definitely on to something that's coming up in a few chapters... you were absolutely on the right track in a couple of your opinions. Thanks again for reading, enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7 - Cross the Line<strong>_  
>Let's bypass the bullshit and move on because<br>the minute hand moves faster than you think it does  
>and by no fault of yours and by no fault of mine<br>the bottom line is laying in the bed  
><em>_that we've been playing in tonight ~ Love Soon_

"_I can't get a job in California because of you and me._"

Her words hung heavy between them, but Logan reacted instinctively to the storm as he reached forward to grab her elbow and pull her away from the window. The electricity surged once more before throwing them into complete darkness again. A glance out the window told Logan that power was out all over the island and silently he went around the room to finish lighting the candles.

Rory watched him but didn't dare move to help. Through the shadows she could see his jaw was clenched, his anger practically illuminating him in the dark. And of course he was angry, he had every right to be. Her words had been cruel and unnecessary but she hadn't been able to stop them from coming out. And no matter how she hadn't meant them, there was no possible way to take them back.

"Logan?" she asked tentatively, flinching when he turned fully toward her. Somehow she knew that an apology wasn't going to be enough to get rid of that look in his eyes this time.

"I can't keep doing this Rory. No, I won't keep doing this."

"Please, just let me explain."

"Explain what, exactly? How it took less than twenty four hours for you to go back on what you said last night? Or have you already forgotten about that? Did you only say it because it kills you to have someone mad at you? What are you going to say now, Rory, because I'd really like to see you talk your way out of this one."

"I didn't mean it the way it sounded." She closed her eyes. "I know how that sounds and I know that no matter what I'm going to say right now, you're not going to believe me."

"So why even bother?" She winced at his question.

"If we don't talk this through then we're not going to be able to move forward."

"We're not moving forward!" he protested. "You said so yourself. You won't move to Palo Alto until you have a job. Now you tell me that because we're together, you can't get a job in Palo Alto. Which, by the way, is the most ridiculous thing I think I have ever heard you say." He shook his head and sat down heavily on the sofa. "Are you really reaching that hard for a reason not to be with me?"

"I want to be with you!"

"You have a really bad way of showing me that." He sighed. "I really thought we were moving forward last night, I actually thought that you were coming around and were finally realizing that we could actually do this."

"You're not listening to me, Logan," she insisted. "I do wa-"

"Actually I am listening. Finally really listening. And you're still just as scared as you were two years ago." He laughed and dropped his head into his hands. "Everyone is going to have a field day telling me how right they were and how wrong I've been."

"Stop!"

He stood up and walked over to her, again moving her away from a glass window just as lightning struck the sand not too far down the beach. "You need to stop walking in front of windows," he warned her. Thunder boomed in the vicinity and the rain started coming down in sheets. "All of the windows are open upstairs," he said, avoiding actually looking at her. "I will get the ones up there if you want to finish getting the ones down here."

"Then what?"

He shrugged. "Then we wait out the storm. I don't know what you want me to say Rory, because frankly I'm really tired of all of the fighting and backtracking and apologizing only to fight again cycle we've got going on. I don't want to do it anymore." He turned and headed up the stairs before she could respond so she was left to wander the main floor, closing the windows against the wind and the rain.

When he came back downstairs, he found her sitting on the couch staring out the front window. He noted that she was a safe distance away from the plate of glass and refrained from say anything. "Everyone in town said the storm will probably last through the night," he said for lack of anything else to say. He sat across from her on one of the armchairs and shrugged his shoulders. "Hopefully they're wrong."

"I didn't realize it would be so terrible to wait out a storm with me."

"I'm sorry, did I mishear when you told me I was the reason you were jobless?"

"I said you were the reason I couldn't get a job in California."

"Right, because that's so much better." Logan rolled his eyes. "Seriously, do you even think before these things come out of your mouth?"

She took a deep breath. "I know you're not the reason, Logan, but what do want me to say? That I suck at my job and it was only a matter of time before I was fired?"

"Oh stop it, that's not true either."

"Than what is, Logan? What's the reason I lost my job? Why can't I get anyone to even give me an audition in Palo Alto?"

"Have you talked to Violet?"

"Of course I have. She tried, but no one would take her seriously. And then Malcolm said that Jen-"

"Jen's a party planner, Rory. As much as she likes to think so, she's not really anybody if she's not with someone. I highly doubt she has any kind of pull with anyone in the entertainment industry unless she's sleeping with them."

"And you don't think that's possible?"

"Of course it's possible. She could probably be sleeping with more than one. But that doesn't mean they're stupid enough to listen to her if she has anything to say about you. Malcolm is likely looking for someone to blame because he couldn't save your contract and doesn't want you to fire him."

Rory blinked. "I'm sorry. Did I just hear you defend Jen?" she asked, her voice raising a notch in tone. "Really, Logan?"

"Oh stop. I'm just saying that I just don't think Jen is at all capable of ruining your career."

"You'd be surprised at what a woman scorned can do when she puts her mind to it."

Logan sighed, deciding to drop the Jen aspect for a moment. "So quit television," he suggested. "Go back to writing, it's what you love to do."

"I loved television too," she argued. "You're loving this, aren't you?" she demanded. "Now that I don't have a job or any prospect of one, it makes perfect sense for me to be the one to relocate. You can stay in your house with your career and your friends and I can be the one to move because I have nothing going for me."

"You were looking for a job in California so you could move!" His tone grew angrier with each word. "Don't blame this on me, Rory. You can't have it both ways. Do you want to move or not?"

"It's not that simple!"

"Actually, it is. And why would you look into working out West if you didn't want to move there? Were you doing it so you could say you tried, but it didn't work and use that to force me into moving back to New York?"

"So I can be manipulative like that, but Jen can't?"

"Forget about Jen for one goddamned minute and focus on us!"

"All I ever do is think about us!" Rory cried out. "I'm so sick of it, ever since we got back together, all anyone has wanted to talk to me about was us. All _we _ever talk about is us. I'm tired of it, Logan! I'm tired of every single conversation we have turning into another fight about our future.

"We're not going to have a future if you're not careful what you say."

Her head snapped up and she stared hard at him. "And it's always going to be my fault, isn't it? That must be nice for you, Logan. To be able to walk away from this knowing you did absolutely nothing wrong and knowing everyone will blame me." She shook her head and walked over to the far end of the room. "I'm so tired of being the bad guy in this relationship."

"I'm not blameless," Logan admitted. "We're both really good at pushing each others buttons. We always have been. But Rory, I'm trying my hardest here to make this relationship work, to move us forward to the future, and all you want to do is stay right where we're at. You know that's simply not possible, right? We can't stay stuck this way, we're end up killing each other."

"I know.". Briefly, the tension eased between them and she felt her body relax. The candle next to her had flickered out so she opened the desk drawer to find the matches, and found something entirely unexpected. "Oh you have _got _to be kidding me!" she explained as she whirled around.

"What?"

"What the hell is this? What are you trying to pull?" She flung the ring box at him, hitting him square in the chest. "Seriously?"

He picked the box up from the floor. "Rory, you don-"

"Stop Logan, just stop. I told you from the beginning that I wasn't ready for this. You said you understood. You said you wouldn't push me. What were going to do? Propose on the beach? Did you expect this to end up some cliched fantasy vacation where everything went perfect and we went back home engaged?"

He opened the box and held it out to her silently. She stared at the braided metal ring. "It's for Honor," he said simply. "She loves offbeat jewelry and asked me to bring her back something fun, and this is what I found for her when you and I went shopping yesterday."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh," he said flatly. "You are something else."

"You can't blame me for-"

"Oh yes I can." Logan stared at her incredulously. "I didn't even bring up marriage this time, you saw a ring box and you freaked the fuck out. This isn't going to work for me anymore, Rory."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I can't ignore the fact that every time I try and put a ring on your finger you end up freaking out so badly that you end up sabotaging our entire relationship."

"Oh really? That's it? _That's _what is causing all of our problems? Fine, here, Take the damn thing!" Rory ripped the ring from her finger and slammed it down on the table between them. "Go ahead, stand there and tell me that some piece of metal and stone is causing all of the problems between us but we both know that it goes way beyond that."

He ignored the ring laying between them. "What we both know is that you are the one causing any problems we might have. You're the one who would rather sit here and pretend that we're perfectly fine instead of actually sitting down and working things out." She opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off. "I've lost count of how many times I've tried to talk to you, but Rory, you don't want to. And when we try, it ends in a fight or it ends with me telling you that we'll worry about it later because I don't want to get into another fight."

"So why are you even wasting your time with me if it's so awful?"

"I really don't know," he bit out. She stood there, not actually believing that he really said it.

She shook her head. "You knew. You knew from the second we started this whole thing again that I didn't want to get married. I wasn't ready and you weren't going to push me. Those were the rules." She bristled at the silence. "Really, you have nothing to say to that?" He stayed silent and she turned away. "Fuck you, Logan."

"No, fuck you, Rory!" She froze mid-step but didn't turn around. "Fine, yes I knew in the beginning not to push you but you know what? Things change. People change. Relationships change. You're eventually going to have to get off your goddamn selfish high horse and decide if you really want to keep doing this or not. Because while I knew that you weren't ready then, you also knew damn well that I was, and that I would keep pursuing you in that way. We're not teenagers and I refuse to still be just dating you five years from now!"

"So what are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is you need to decide pretty damn quick if you want to marry me ever or if you want to keep stringing me along. I have given you plenty of time and space and you have given me absolutely nothing in return but false promises and empty words that you think I want to hear. You have to give me something I can believe. Something I can count on." He folded his arms across his chest. "And you need to do it tonight, or I'm gone as soon as the storm clears."

"Tonight?" she echoed. She racked her brain, trying to think of what exactly it was that he wanted from her. "You're actually imposing a deadline on me?"

He nodded. "I'll give you until midnight if you absolutely need it."

She laughed incredulously. "And what makes you think that I'm not just going to spout off whatever answer I think will make you happy?" She glared at him. "Since apparently that's what I always do."

He shrugged. "I think you know how serious I am this time, and I think you know I won't buy any excuses. This is it, Ace. By midnight you have to tell me if you think you will marry me or not. And I promise you, it's the last time I'm ever going to ask."

"I..." her voice trailed off and she lowered her eyes. "I have to think about this," she admitted finally.

For the first time since their fight started, Logan chuckled. It was quiet and low, but it was a chuckle nonetheless. "Need to make a pro and con list?" he asked.

Her eyes met his and for the briefest moment, she relaxed. It was still Logan, after all. "Something like that," she agreed.

Logan nodded. "Well, have at it. If you need me, I'll be right here." He settled into one of the huge armchairs and turned his gaze to the bay window. She stared at him for a moment and then looked down at the ring that still lay on the table. Her fingers inched for it, but then she dropped her hand and moved away from the table. She sat down across from Logan and watched him, thinking about everything that had just been said.

Meanwhile, Logan was trying to appear disinterested but he could not keep from watching her out of the corner of his eye. She was actually giving his words some thought and he was grateful for that. He hadn't really meant to give her an ultimatum like he had, the words had just kind of happened before he could stop them, but in hindsight, it probably wasn't the worst idea he ever had. This could be good for them. It would be good for him; he would finally know once and for all, what Rory's intentions were.

"Doesn't it scare you?" she asked suddenly. It had been nearly an hour since the last time either of them had spoken, and her voice startled both of them.

"Doesn't what scare me?"

"Being married," she clarified. "Not the actual getting married part, but everything that comes after that."

He turned to face her and shrugged. "A little, but really, can it be any different than living together? We did that for almost two years with no problems."

"Except, for half of that time you were living in London or New York," she pointed out. "And just living together and playing house is absolutely different than being married."

"How so?"

She opened her mouth and then shut it, her shoulders lifting in a helpless shrug. "I don't know, my parents didn't actually get married until I moved out of the house and well, you saw how well that worked out for them. I have no married role models. No offense, but I don't exactly want to be like your parents either, even if they have been married for thirty years."

"Whatever they do,it works for them." Logan tried to keep from sounding defensive because truthfully, that wasn't the kind of marriage he wanted either. "What about Honor and Josh? Or Zach and Lane even? They all make it work."

"True." Rory hadn't thought about that. She leaned back in her chair. "Do you think we'd be any good at it?"

"I do. And I"m not just saying that because I'm trying to convince you of it."

She nodded thoughtfully. "Why?"

"Why? Because when you and I set our minds on something, we don't fail."

"I didn't exactly do a stellar job at being a traveling correspondent," she pointed out.

"Because that was never what you really wanted to do. You just felt like you had no other options. And when you realized that wasn't what you wanted, what did you do? You moved to New York and out of nowhere, became one of their most popular morning talk show hosts. You had no zero knowledge of how to do that and you did it with very little effort."

"But that's different," she protested. "If that hadn't worked out then the only person I would have let down would have been me. If I fail at being married to you..." She shook her head. "I don't even want to think about that."

"Do you really think you could fail me?"

"Haven't I?" she asked bluntly. "For the past two years, isn't that exactly what I've done?"

Logan shook his head. "Not in the least. Let me down, sure. But I've done the same to you. I've never once thought you've failed me."

"Good to know." She sat quietly for a minute, staring down at the notebook she'd been scribbling in. Candlelight flickered across the pages and she bit down on her lower lip before looking back up at him. He was still watching her, openly this time. "What about kids?"

"What about them?"

"Do you want them?"

He nodded. "Actually, I do. I always thought you did too?"

"I do but again..." Rory sighed.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Rory, do you think that every single person who gets married, does so thinking that they're going to be the best spouse and parent in the entire world? Or do you think mostly, they all have the same exact concerns we're talking about right now."

"So what's wrong with me?" she asked ruefully. "Why can't I approach this like everyone else and just suck it up and realize that learning as I go might not be as terrible as I think it will be?"

Logan smirked. "Because once an over-achiever, always one?" He shrugged. "You can't plan for every single thing that could happen in the future. Sometimes, you just have no control over what happens and you just have to go with it. You need to dive right in, you need to-"

"Jump?" she supplied, smiling faintly. He gave her an appraising look and nodded.

"Exactly. You just need to jump. I know you know how to do that." Their eyes connected for a moment and she smiled again before looking back down at her notepad. Logan hid his smile and wisely refrained from commenting on how they were having actual conversations without fighting.

"Logan?" He turned his attention back to her again. "I need to tell you something," she said, nervously tapping her pen against the notebook.

"Are you pregnant?"

"No!" She gave him a look and he couldn't help but smirk at her. "But I don't want you to get mad at what I'm about to say."

"I'm listening."

"Do you remember before, when I explained to you why I said no when you proposed? How I'd had a dream that morning about how I thought our life would turn out?"

His eyes clouded for a moment before he remembered. "Oh right, the perfect family at the debutante ball It was so horrible," he added dryly.

She ignored him. "Well, what I didn't tell you at the time was that wasn't the only dream I'd had about it."

"Did we live happily ever after in the second one too?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No." She took a deep breath and went into great detail about the first fantasy she'd had about being married to him; the one where he was working all hours of the day and leaving her home to take care of a newborn child. She held nothing back, and fully went into all of her fears and insecurities about the whole scenario.

"I didn't have a dad growing up, and I saw how hard that was on my mom. And me. But yet, your dad was around and I've seen how hard that was on you. Really Logan, neither of us had sterling examples of how fathers are supposed to be and that scares the hell out of me."

"So you're afraid that I'm going to be a terrible father?"

"No, not really, but..." she didn't know where to go with this. "We don't know any different, Logan. You don't know any different than what you grew up with, and I've seen how dedicated you can be to your work. Don't get me wrong," she rushed on before he could speak. "It's one of the things I love about you, but it pulls you away a lot, Logan. Look how much time we spent apart because of your work. I just don't know if I see that changing if we bring a child into the mix."

Logan stared past her shoulder at a spot on the wall, trying to get his thoughts together. Thunder struck off in the distance, breaking the silence in the room but doing little to ease the tension.

"I don't even know what to say to that," he said finally. "I know that I didn't have the best example of parents growing up, but that doesn't mean I don't know any better than to act just like them. In fact, I'd say that because of how I was brought up, I'd know exactly what not to do."

"But work..."

"I'm always going to have to work, Rory. I can't help that. And sometimes it'll be out of town. But it works for your grandparents; it has for almost 50 years."

"Yes but..." Rory sighed again. "What if I can't do it? What if I can't be that wife? What if I can't hold everything together while you're gone and everything goes to pieces? I'm not like my mom and my grandmother, I know they can and have done that lifestyle and they've done it amazingly."

"You're a lot stronger than you think, Rory," Logan said. "There's no doubt in my mind that you wouldn't be able to handle things on your own when you needed to."

"But what if I don't want to have to?"

He sat back against the chair as lightning struck close to the house again. "And that my dear, is the real question you need to be asking yourself right now."

Her mouth opened and closed a few times but no words came out. "How do you do that?" she managed finally.

Logan shrugged. "I know you better than you think I do. I always have, and you've always doubted it."

"What if I don't want to be my grandparents?"

"What if I want to become America's Next Top Model?" She raised an eyebrow. "I'm just saying, we can't plan every little detail of the future. That's just not possible. And we don't have to be anyone else Rory. Not my parents or yours, or your grandparents or Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie."

"Brangelina's not married."

"And we still don't have to be like them. All we can do is be what we already are." He shrugged. "Hopefully, we get better with age, but I'm willing to still love you if get a little ugly."

"Gee thanks."

"I'm just saying." Logan smiled at her again and she just shook her head and looked back down at her list. His smile faded. "Seriously?"

She looked up. "What?"

"I've alleviated all of your fears, haven't I? Talked you down from every one, and still you can't make your decision?"

She blinked, taken aback by his sudden anger. "I didn't say I hadn't made my decision," she said slowly. "But I don't care for your current tone of voice."

"What's holding you back still? Let's hear it, no matter how stupid it is, come out with it."

"So now I'm being stupid?"

"Some of your fears are exactly that, Rory."

"Nice, Logan." She stood up and walked a few feet away.

Logan sighed. "Maybe you can make your mind up if I leave you alone for a bit, I could use some air as it is." He stood up and headed for the door.

"You're leaving?" she asked incredulously. "It's storming out there."

"And yet, it's preferable to being in here right now. I'm not going to go far, I just really need some air." He was out the sliding glass doors before she could protest.

"Jerk," she muttered as she walked back to her chair and flopped down into it. She picked up her notebook and read through her lists again, adding items to each side before stopping and looking out the window. He was just standing out in the backyard, in one of the gardens that surrounded the grotto. He hadn't bothered to take an umbrella with him, and though the thunder and lightning had let up some, the rain hadn't. She looked back down at her list, tapping pen against paper. Biting down on her lower lip, she lifted her head back up and found herself staring at him again.

She didn't know who she was trying to fool, she didn't need a list to tell her what she already knew.

Rory was outside before she even knew it. "Logan!"

He turned around to face her. "I was wondering how long you were going to let me stay out here. Another five minutes and I might have lost hope you'd come out at all."

She crossed the last few steps between them before throwing herself against him, her arms tight around his neck. "I'm a jerk." Her words were muffled against his shoulder.

"Yeah." She felt him smile above her as his arms went around her waist. "But then again, so am I."

"I didn't mean it," she said, leaning back to look up at him. "Anything stupid that I might have said tonight, I didn't mean it. I swear I didn't. I'm so sorry Logan, I didn't mean to blame my losing my job on you. I know it's not your fault, I was just upset and-"

"It's okay," Logan said, pushing a wet strand of hair out of her eyes. "I know you didn't mean it."

"No it's not okay! You don't deserve this from me, any of it!" Rory shook her head and droplets of rain scattered over them. "I mean it, Logan, no more craziness."

"None?" He raised an eyebrow. "I kind of like the crazy. Crazy is a part of your charm."

"None of the bad crazy," she clarified. She laughed at him, and took a deep breath. "Okay."

"Okay what?"

"Okay I made up my mind." She was smiling at him through the dark.

"And what did you decide?" His grip tightened on her waist, his fingers digging into her hips.

She looked directly into his eyes. "You can't ask me to marry you tonight," she said solemnly. "That would just be way too cheesy and cliched for the two of us, especially now."

"I agree, that's why I never planned on it." Logan's grip relaxed, but only slightly. "But after tonight?" he pressed.

She laughed and nodded her head. "When the time is right."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously," she confirmed. "I'm ready to really seriously talk about spending the rest of my life with you." She raised an eyebrow. "Think you can handle that?"

Logan lifted her up and spun her around in a circle before setting her back onto her feet. "That's all I wanted," he said seriously as he leaned forward and kissed her fully on the mouth. They both laughed as he swung her around again and broke apart only when he stumbled in the sand, nearly sending them both to the ground. Another streak of lightning flashed through the dark sky and Rory jumped, having forgotten about the storm surrounding them in spite of being soaking wet from the rain.

He saw her shiver and let her back toward the house where they went upstairs to dry off and change into other clothing. The power surged once more and then was suddenly back on, light flooding the house as they lay side by side, facing each other on the bed.

"What's that smile for?" Logan asked, his hand moving to rest on her hip.

She shrugged. "I was just thinking." Rory curled her fingers around his and she leaned forward to kiss him lightly. "What happens next?"

Logan laughed and rolled her underneath him before kissing her hard on the mouth. "That is the best question you have asked me all night."

What happens next, indeed.


	8. She Spends More Time Sleeping Over

**Chapter 8 - She Spends More Time Sleeping Over**  
><em>Tonight we're gonna order in<br>__Drinking wine and watch some CNN  
>It's dark I know, but then again<br>It's the brightest thing I got ~ Covered in Rain_

Their vacation getaway ended far sooner than either of them was ready for, even after they managed to stay an extra week than planned, and before they knew it, Logan was back to work in Palo Alto while Rory was splitting her time between New York and Stars Hollow.

"How's your mom doing?"

"She's fine, she's driving me crazy." Rory lowered her voice so Lorelai couldn't hear her. Almost two weeks ago, Lorelai had tripped in front of Doose's, breaking her ankle. Though she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, Luke had called Rory and asked her to come stay at the house for the week because Lorelai's injury coincided with his planned trip with April. An injured Lorelai left to her own devices was never a good thing, and Rory had agreed to keep her mom company while Luke was gone.

Logan laughed. "Is she still talking about suing Taylor?"

"Only when Taylor can hear her." Rory laughed too. "And that's always entertaining. The last time she brought it up, he insisted that if she was going to sue anyone, she had to sue whoever was in charge of making sure there were no cracks in the sidewalk."

"Who would that be?"

"Normally, I couldn't tell you, but because the sidewalk in front of his store is the original concrete that was poured in 1954, it falls on the Preservation Society and guess who's the head of that one?"

"I will never get enough of your town, Ace."

"Oh yeah, it's a trip. Oh, I forgot to tell you. Shoot, wait a moment, I probably shouldn't say this out here where mom has bionic hearing." She got up from the couch and wandered toward her old bedroom, closing the door soundly behind her.

"You have me intrigued Rory, what couldn't Lorelai hear?"

"Imagine my surprise this morning, Mr. Huntzberger."

"Oh, she's breaking out the formal name."

"When I sat down to breakfast this morning, at Luke's mind you, and decided to check my email while enjoying some pancakes."

"Aww, I love Luke's pancakes."

"Pay attention, Sir. Do you remember what exactly was waiting for me in my inbox this morning?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. You mentioned pancakes and I immediately thought of a tall stack, covered in maple syrup. Naturally, my thoughts progressed to you covered in maple syrup and well, I'm lucky to remember my own name at the moment."

"Logan!" She tried but failed at keeping her tone stern. "Are you not listening to me? I opened that email from you at Luke's while sitting next to Miss Patty!"

"What? Why would you do that? Did she see?" Logan was trying his best not to laugh.

"Only enough to comment that I was a very lucky girl. Seriously, Logan!"

He laughed again. "Well you really should have known better, so it serves you right." He paused. "Did you at least find time later to enjoy the pictures?"

"Might have."

"Because I definitely enjoyed taking them for you."

"I bet you did. Show-off."

"I miss you, Rory." His tone was quiet, serious.

"You miss me or you miss having me?"

"I miss you," he insisted. "Seriously, come visit me. Name the time you can get away and I'll have the plane waiting and ready."

"I wonder, what do girls in long distance relationships do when they don't have their boyfriend's private plane at their disposal," she mused thoughtfully.

"Rory."

"Logan," she mimicked. Then she sighed. "I want to, but my mom..."

"Your mom is fine, Rory. Luke's the one freaking out about her. And let's be honest, you're probably just annoying her with all of your hovering."

"Maybe."

"Tomorrow's Friday. Come then, stay through next week and then you can leave whenever you need to get back." He refrained from pointing out that, without a job, she really didn't have anything she needed to be in New York for. He'd made an effort, since getting back from Seychelles, to not railroad her into making the move to California. He knew it was going to happening, but on her own time, and he was actually okay with that.

The fact that Logan had issued her an ultimatum to begin with still didn't sit right, with either of them, and though it had worked out for the two of them in the end, he really didn't see it working in his favor a second time, and didn't want to send an already gun-shy Rory running in the opposite direction.

But he still wanted to see her.

"Rory?"

She sighed. "What if I flew out Sunday?" she asked finally. In truth, she would have flown out that very afternoon; however, she had made weekend plans with her mother and knew there would be absolute hell to pay if she bailed on her.

"Sunday it is. Let me know what time, and I'll let the pilot know to be ready. Now that we've got that out of the way, can we go back to talking about you covered in maple syrup?"

"Maple syrup sounds awfully messy."

"Trust me it wouldn't last long enough to get messy." Logan's tone dropped a notch and Rory felt herself grow warm as he went on. Ensuring her door was shut tight, she moved back toward the bed and made herself comfortable as Logan kept talking.

It was nearly an hour later by the time she emerged from her room, just barely in time for the start of movie nigh with Lorelai. She had attempted to fix her hair, but her eyes were still glassy and she was sure her skin still flushed. If she noticed, Lorelai held her tongue, something Rory was entirely grateful for.

"Well, nice of you to finally join me," Lorelai remarked, not looking up from the television. "You're a great caretaker, by the way. What if I had needed something from the kitchen?"

"I didn't hear you ring your bell," Rory said with a roll of her eyes. She settled herself in on the couch next to her mom and reached for the popcorn.

"So, how's Logan?"

"He's good. He wants me to come out there for awhile."

"Yeah? When are you going?"

"As soon as your boyfriend gets back." She stuck her tongue out at Lorelai. "Sunday, I'm thinking. For the week at least."

"Well that'll be fun." Lorelai turned the television off and turned to face her daughter. "So, how you feeling about this whole Logan thing?" she asked. "You look happy."

"I am happy." Even as she spoke she couldn't stop from smiling. The first night she'd been in Stars Hollow she had filled Lorelai in on everything that had happened in Seychelles. Surprisingly, Lorelai had been supportive of the recent events, and was doing her best to remain so.

"How soon do you think you'll be moving out there?"

Rory shrugged. "Honestly? I'm not sure. I'd like to say soon, but I really don't know. We actually haven't talked about it."

"Really? After all that fighting, you haven't talked about moving there since?"

"Not really. It's like he's afraid to bring it up. Which, I don't blame him one bit." Rory shrugged again. "I know that moving there is the right thing to do. I just don't want to move there and then not have any direction at all, you know?"

"Is that all that's holding you back?" Lorelai pressed. "Or is it something else?"

"I want to go," Rory confessed. "But, it's so far away." She smiled wryly at the older brunette. "You and I would be in different time zones, how would we make that work?"

"Aw kid. As much as I love the fact that I've managed to make you completely co-dependent on me, I gotta say, I think you need to just make the move. And soon." Lorelai patted her knee. "That marriage proposal is for sure coming sooner rather than later, and you being over here makes it really hard for him to do that."

"That proposal is coming when the time is right," Rory said automatically.

"Mmhmm. You all but gave him permission. Trust me, it's coming. And look at it this way. You can't snoop for the ring if you're way over here and he's way over there."

"I don't know, he had this one in the vault in New York," Rory said as she held out her hand.

"Do you think he'll use the same ring he used before?"

"I have no idea," Rory admitted. To this day, she could still see that ring on her finger, even remember how heavy it felt. "It was a beautiful ring, but..." Lorelai nodded, understanding completely.

"You're stalling, Rory. You need to just do it. Move to California." Lorelai hesitated. "Look how much time the two of you have lost already. Look at how long it took Luke and I to get back to even just dating, all because of my stubbornness. Don't be me, Kid. Not this time." She smiled. "And I'll always be here, you know that."

"I know," She thought for a moment. "So, I'll go for the week, I'll talk to Logan about the whole move thing, and then start the job search again and go from there. Are you sure you're okay with me leaving on Sunday?"

"God yes. No offense, but you've kind of been cramping my style." Lorelai winked. "No, it's totally fine. Luke is back on Monday morning and I'm really okay."

"Okay." Rory leaned in, her shoulder resting against Lorelai's. "So, what are we watching tonight?"

* * *

><p>Rory smiled as she felt a pair of warm hands slide around her waist. "Well good morning," she said, not turning away from the stove.<p>

"Morning." Logan kissed the top of her head and peered over her shoulder. "You're cooking?"

"Shush, I'm a good cook and you know it." Finally, she turned around and gave him a light kiss. "Look at you in that snazzy suit." She winked. "I forgot how much I liked you in a suit." She carried their plates over to the table while he brought the coffee.

"Are you sure you're okay with me going into work today?" Logan frowned. "You just got here yesterday, and I really thought I could push this meeting back, but-"

"Logan!" She laughed. "You need to go to work, don't try and use me as an excuse to get out of it!" She took a sip of her coffee. "Of course I'm okay with it, don't be silly. I already talked to Violet, we're going to have lunch and catch up a bit, and then who knows?" She shrugged. "I'll be fine, I promise." She realized Logan was staring at her and she blushed. "What?"

He raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "I just really missed this," he said. He had gotten used to waking up with her on their vacation, and the cohabitation routine they had fallen so quickly into again hadn't gone unnoticed by him either.

She rolled her eyes but she was smiling. "I never knew you were so mushy," she teased, lightly kicking his foot under the table.

"Way to steal my moment, Ace." He pretended to look hurt but ruined it with a laugh. "Truthfully, I just like seeing you in the kitchen making me breakfast. You know, like the good little housewife you're supposed to be."

This time she laughed. "Whatever. Any true Huntzberger wife will have a cook to prepare their breakfast," she pointed out.

"And a maid to clean up," Logan agreed. He cocked his head to the side. "Should I start hiring help?"

She laughed again, but shook her head. "I wouldn't know what to do with help," she confessed. "And, I kind of like cooking for you anyways. But don't expect anything fancy, Mister. Macaroni and cheese is about as gourmet as I get."

"My favorite." He pushed his chair back. "I need to get going. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Go!" she insisted with a smile. She stood up and walked with him into the foyer. "When do you think you'll be home?"

"In time for dinner," he promised. "We're going out, by the way, so you should probably wear something fancy."

"Got it. Rhinestone penis t-shirt and cut-off shorts." She straightened his tie and leaned in to kiss him goodbye. "Have a great day."

"You too." His lips lingered against hers for a moment before he finally pulled away. "See you tonight."

She watched from the door until he was almost to his car. "Hey Logan?"

"Yeah?"

She smiled again. "I'm really happy I'm here. In case you didn't know."

"Aw, now who's the mushy one?"

She laughed. "Shut up!"

He winked. "I'm glad you're here too. Love you."

"Love you too." She waved, waiting to go back inside until he was out of the driveway. Back inside, she took her time cleaning up the kitchen and then just kind of wandered around the house, picturing it filled with her things next to Logan's.

Honestly, it wasn't a bad picture at all. In fact, she rather liked it. The house was exactly as Logan had described it two years ago, right down to the tree in the back yard. It wasn't a mansion, by any means, but it wasn't exactly a cottage either. With three bedrooms, an office, and the huge backyard, it really was the perfect starter house.

And on the plus side, besides that first visit she'd made to the house, she hadn't seen a single trace of the fact that another woman had lived there before her. True to his word, Logan had packed and shipped all of Jen's things within hours of breaking up with her. All of the pictures had been removed; she was fairly certain the paint had been changed in the living room, and she knew for a fact that there was a brand new bed in the master bedroom. She hadn't asked Logan to do any of those things, but she wasn't stupid, she was happy that he had.

Before she knew it, the morning had passed and she was on her way to meet Violet. She hadn't seen her since the wedding and though they had kept in touch through email, she was excited to see her. They had a lot to catch up on.

"So, I've done a digging around," Violet said after they had ordered. "And Malcolm was kind of telling the truth. Jen has tried mentioning to a few people that you're unstable," Violet rolled her eyes and used air quotations on the last word. "And she's really pushing the whole 'who wants a homewrecker co-hosting a family friendly morning show' bit, but-"

Rory scoffed. "Come on! Not that I'm advocating my actions, but show me an on-air personality who hasn't been involved in a love triangle. No offense," she added quickly, remembering Violet had just married her weatherman.

Violet laughed. "Please, we don't have time to go into all of the coworkers I've been inappropriate with." She shrugged. "But that's exactly my point. No one cares about that, in fact, it's often a huge ratings pull." She laughed again. "It also didn't help that one of the people Jen was trying to sell this story to was the brother of a woman who's marriage she had ruined when she was eighteen."

"Nice." Rory wasn't surprised. "But I don't get it. How did she even know about the audition reels? Or that I was even planning on moving here?"

Violet shrugged. "That I haven't been able to figure out. But, we both know she knows a lot of people. And I'm sure she figured once you and Logan were back together that you'd be here eventually." She paused and took a sip of her iced tea. "How are things with Logan anyway? I heard he whisked you away to Seychelles recently? That had to have been amazing."

"It was," Rory agreed. With a smile, she described their trip, not completely going into explicit detail on the fights, but touching on them and explaining how they actually worked out to their benefit in that she was finally ready to move forward.

"It's about time!" Violet said with a shake of her head. "Seriously, you two have the whole fairytale romance thing going on, don't you?"

"Oh we do not," Rory protested.

"You do!"

Rory raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? In what fairytale is the princess terrified of commitment and nearly drives the prince away because of all of her irrational fears?"

"Okay, so you're not Cinderella," Violet agreed. "But you do seem to have one of those great love stories going on."

She couldn't stop from smiling. "Yeah, it is pretty great," she admitted. She shook her head. "But it's just like any other two people in love."

"I don't know." Violet sat back in her chair. "I'm telling you, you and Logan make a great story."

"As long as we end happily ever after," Rory reminded her.

"You will." Violet sounded sure of herself. "Don't worry, I know these things."

"I bet you do." Rory laughed. "Okay, enough about me! I want to hear all about how fabulous married life is. Tell me it all, don't leave anything out!" She was serious too, if she was going to marry Logan anytime soon, than she needed to hear firsthand just exactly what to expect.

The pleasant realization was, none of it sounded half bad.

* * *

><p>"Aren't you coming to bed?" Logan asked, dropping his hands to her shoulders. Rory craned her head back and smiled at him.<p>

"In a bit. I got caught up watching this." She nodded at the television. When they had gotten back from dinner awhile ago, Logan had gone upstairs to shower, and Rory had meant to head up to change clothes, but instead she had found herself curled up on the couch, her shoes kicked off nearby, watching a special report on BBC America.

Logan glanced at the television. "William and Kate?" He chuckled. "Didn't know you were a royal watcher, Ace."

She shrugged as he sat down next to her. "I'm not really, but you have to admit, they're kind of fascinating." He raised his arm so that she could curl into his side and propped his feet up on the coffee table.

"How so?"

"I don't know, they just are. I mean, they've been together for eight years and they're just now getting engaged." She raised her head off of his chest to look up at him. "Would you wait eight years to marry me?" she asked lightly.

He shook his head. "I've already waited nearly three; five, if you count from when we started dating."

"Oh stop, you didn't know you wanted to marry me then."

"Maybe not marry, but from the beginning, I knew you were different." They watched in silence for a few minutes. "What girl would wait eight years to marry a prince?" he asked.

"Actually, he waited that long to ask her. She's been ready for years. That's why they call her Waity Katie."

"Then he's an idiot. Look at her. Why wouldn't he want to marry her?"

"Well he is going to be King one day," she pointed out. "He probably needed to make sure she was the right one for him."

"Nah, once you know, you know. There's no waiting about it. Unless you're scared of something."

She gave him a sideways glance. The subtext was getting a little too heavy-handed for her liking. "Well, obviously, he's not scared anymore," she replied. "And look how happy the two of them are." She nodded toward the screen again. "So maybe, waiting worked for them."

"Maybe." Logan ran his hand through her hair before pressing another kiss to her temple. "Do you think they're really happy?"

She nodded as her fingers curled into the hem of his t-shirt. "I really think they are," she said as she tilted her head back so that he could kiss her. Her lips parted against his as her hands snaked around his back. He cupped his hands to either side of her face and deepened their embrace. Soon, in the background she heard the remote control clatter to the floor and she was dimly aware of falling back against the cushions as Logan's hands slid her dress higher up her legs. She sighed contentedly into his mouth as his weight settled over her.

Though the television was quickly forgotten by both of them, they each couldn't help but separately wonder just how much longer they were going to have to wait for each other.

* * *

><p>Before either was seemingly aware of it, one week's time had passed and neither of them was particularly ready for her to return to New York, and seeing how nothing was really stopping her, it was decided Rory would stay a few days. The had spent Friday evening out with a few of Logan's co-workers, people Rory had begun to enjoy spending time with, and it had been nearly four in the morning by the time they had stumbled into bed.<p>

Which was why Rory was none too pleased to be woken up early the next morning.

"Rory." Logan shook her gently, trying to wake her up. "Rise and shine, Ace." He smiled as her eyes slowly blinked open. "Well good morning."

"Morning." She sounded confused and sleepy. "Why are you waking me up so early on a Saturday morning?" she asked. Then, "Why are you awake so early on a Saturday morning?"

He grimaced. "My dad's downstairs," he said quickly.

That woke her up. "What?" she asked, sitting up. "Why? Is your mom with him?"

"No, it's just him. He's in town on business and wanted to go over some family stuff with me while he was here." He smiled apologetically. "Breakfast is almost ready, of course you should join us, but I just didn't want you coming downstairs wearing, well..." he nodded at her naked form.

"Right. Clothes would be a good thing." Rory shook her head, trying to wake up fully. She threw a smile at Logan. "I'll be down in a few minutes," she promised. He nodded and went back down to the dining room.

As promised, Rory joined them not ten minutes later. Dressed in a simple sundress with her hair thrown back in a pony-tail and the only make up gracing her face to be mascara and gloss, Logan was still taken aback by just how beautiful he found her.

"Good morning," she said brightly, gratefully accepting the mug of coffee Logan handed her way. "Mitchum, it's good to see you again."

"Hello Rory." He leaned forward to kiss her cheek. "I'm sorry to interrupt your trip, I didn't realize you were here this week."

"It was a spur of the moment trip," she said, waving it off.

"So Logan says. But I still am sorry. "How have you been? You look well. It would appear unemployment suits you just fine." His words were spoken with no malice, just a trace of teasing and Rory couldn't help but laugh with him.

"You always think having the time off from work is going to be so great, but between you and me, if I spend another week unemployed, I am going to go crazy," she admitted.

"I heard about what happened with your network," Mitchum said. "Was sorry to hear about it, too. I would occasionally tune in while in New York and found your morning banter quite refreshing."

Rory turned and looked at Logan with a look of feigned shock. "Your dad is in quite the charming mood this morning," she mock whispered.

Mitchum laughed. "Have you given any thought to pursuing television over here?" he asked. He looked between the two of them. "I mean, I assume you're thinking about moving here, correct?"

"Dad," Logan began, but Rory cut him off.

"That is the plan," Rory agreed. "I'm not sure when exactly, but I will be moving here." She paused and took a bite from her bagel. "However, the whole working here? Well, that's not as easy as I anticipated."

"Why not?"

Rory lifted her shoulders in a helpless shrug. "I haven't figured that out yet. Maybe I'm not California enough? Not entirely sure, but so far, the network's aren't biting." She slid her eyes toward Logan. "And then there's Jen and her mission to bring me down."

"Jen? Your ex, Jen?" Mitchum turned and looked at Logan as well, his eyebrow raised. Rory and Logan filled him in on Jen's recent doings and he just shook his head.

"I want you to know, Rory," he said as he leaned forward. He waved his hand at Logan. "You too. I never liked that girl. I always thought you two were the better match. Everyone did. Okay, everyone but your mother," he conceded at the look Logan gave him. "But I wouldn't let anything she tries to do get in the way of you making a name for yourself out here, Rory. She might think she holds some sort of power, but believe me, she doesn't. And I think you could be very California if you wanted to be." He shrugged his shoulders. "But that's just my two cents."

"California mellows you out," Rory noted with a raised eyebrow. Mitchum laughed again and refilled his coffee cup.

"What about print?" he asked a few minutes later. "You ever think about going back to writing?"

"I've thought about it, but I haven't written in so long," she admitted. "I don't know how easy it would be to get back into it. Or what kind of direction I'd even want to take it in."

"Well, then you just sit down and you start writing, and whatever the finished product is, you'll know which direction to go." He paused. "You know we own several publications out here, right?"

She blushed. "No, I know, but Mitchum, I couldn't-"

"Relax, I'm not giving you a job. Not yet." He winked. "But write something. Anything. Write it and I will give you the contact information to submit it to. Submit it anonymously, if you'd like, but make sure you get something in soon." Mitchum leaned back in his chair. "Who knows, you could find you missed writing more than you think you have."

"Dad, maybe you should-"

"No, it's okay." Rory laid her hand on top of Logan's and smiled at him reassuringly. Then she turned her smile toward Mitchum. "Thank you. I'll think about it."

"See Logan, she'll think about it." Mitchum smirked. "Now then, let's get down to what I'm really here for, Logan, so you two can get back to playing house and I can make my noon golf game."

Rory excused herself from the table, not wanting to intrude on family matters, and as she made her way back upstairs she had to admit, she was intrigued by Mitchum's offer.

Logan waited until she was out of earshot. "Dad, you didn't have to do that."

"When have I ever done something I didn't want to?" Mitchum shrugged. "She shouldn't be out of work simply because your bitch of an ex is that pathetic."

"I know, but pushing her back into writing? What if she doesn't want it? What if your editor doesn't like her piece? She's already having a hard time with her audition tapes being rejected."

"Have a little faith, Son." Mitchum finished his coffee. "And actually, that's what I wanted to come talk to you about."

"My faith?"

"Your girlfriend," he clarified. "Honor seems to think you'll be getting married soon."

"I don't know about soon, but we have been discussing it."

Mitchum nodded. "She's turned you down once before, Logan."

He bristled. "Well aware of that fact, Dad. But I jumped the gun then, it wasn't the right time.'

"Good to see that you realize that. And you're sure she won't say no the next time you ask her?"

"Nothing is ever completely for sure, but we have talked about it, and she knows its coming. She's okay with it this time." Logan eyed his dad suspiciously. "Why?"

Mitchum shrugged. "Just trying to decide when I'll need to start preparing your mother. And, I wanted to get your thoughts on this." He slid a manila folder toward Logan.

"What is this?"

"This is a trust that was drawn up by your grandmother before she passed away. As you might remember, she was a major shareholder in HPG."

"Right, grandpa always hated that fact." Logan scanned the documents quickly.

"Well, Dad didn't have much choice in the matter. It was his mother who passed her shares over to your grandmother. She had started the whole company with her husband, and they had been equal partners. Completely unheard of in that time, mind you." Mitchum laughed. "The intention was for your grandmother to leave her shares to Shira, but well, you remember how well they got along."

Logan laughed. His grandmother had hated Shira more than Shira hated Rory. "What does this mean?"

"Just before she died, Mom changed her will. She was well aware of the plan that when I retired you would become the primary shareholder of the company. That's still the plan Son, even if you don't work for me now. Once I retire, it's yours to do what you want with."

Logan just nodded. "And so what? Grandma left her shares to me too?"

"Not quite. After her passing, they were left to me but only temporary." Mitchum shook his head, laughing. "Logan, she gave her shares to your future wife. If you want it, in just a couple of years, you and Rory would completely own HPG." He waited for his son's reaction.

Logan didn't know what to say. "I had no idea," he said finally. "I mean that's... shit, Dad, that's going to scare the hell out of Rory."

Mitchum chuckled. "That's why I'm telling you now, instead of waiting until after the wedding. This way, the two of you can talk about it. Decide what to do together. Keep it, sell it off completely; once I'm retired you can do whatever you want with the company." He paused. "You should know, if I had any misgivings about your choice of wife, I would have held onto these shares for as long as I could. I might have even made the papers disappear. You're a good match, Logan. The two of you will make the right decision when it comes down to it, but a word of advice from me? Don't wait to tell her. Don't start a marriage, or even an engagement off for that matter, with a lie. It's too hard to bounce back from that."

Logan looked down at the papers again. This was huge, but his dad was right. It wasn't something he could keep from her. "I appreciate you coming to me with this," he said finally. He met Mitchum's gaze head on. "Thank you."

Mitchum nodded his head. "You're welcome." He looked at his watch. "Now I really do need to go if I'm going to make that golf game. Enjoy the weekend, Son. Tell Rory I said good-bye." They shook hands at the door and Mitchum left.

Logan stared at the door for awhile before moving back into the living room. He called for Rory to come downstairs and went back into the dining room to start clearing away the dishes. She joined him a few minutes later and began helping.

Once in the privacy of his car, Mitchum pulled out his cell phone and dialed his assistant. "Meredith, I know it's the weekend but I need you to do me a favor and it's rather urgent. He stared up at the house again.

"I need you to arrange a meeting between myself and Jen Buckner. Tomorrow, if possible."

"So what did Mitchum want?" she asked as she began loading empty plates into the dishwasher. "He seemed to be in a really good mood."

"Yeah, he always relaxes when he's out here. Always been that way." Logan shrugged. "He just had some papers he wanted me to look at."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. He was more concerned with missing his golf game." Logan laughed. "So what's the plan for today, Ace? Feel like a drive up the coast? Half Moon Bay, maybe?"

She tilted her head to the side and smiled at him. "You know what? That sounds perfect actually," she admitted. In her week there, they had taken a couple of trips up the coast, and she was finding she really didn't get tired of them.

"Okay, you're quiet," Rory observed, sliding her hand into Logan's. They were seated at an outdoor cafe people watching, and for the last twenty minutes, Logan hadn't been able to focus on any conversation she had started. "What's on your mind?"

Wordlessly, Logan pulled the file his dad had left him out of his bag and slid it across the table to Rory. She raised an eyebrow at him before flipping the folder open. He watched as she scanned the papers, similar to the way he had earlier that morning. Her mouth dropped open as she realized what exactly she was reading and he was quick to reach over and cover her hand with his.

"Logan, is this... am I reading this right?" She tore her eyes away from the document and looked up at him. "When your dad retires, you own HPG?"

"Well, technically, we would." He motioned between the two of them. He ignored the distressed look on her face and rushed into the explanation that Mitchum had given him earlier, making it a point to emphasize how Mitchum specifically approved of her.

"Wow," she said quietly. "This is... that's unbelievable." She raised her eyes to his again. "Do you want it?"

He shrugged. "I don't know," he said honestly. "It wouldn't be the worst thing, but I really don't know yet. We don't have to decide anytime in the immediate future either, Ace, I just didn't want to keep this from you. I wanted you to know about it as soon as I did, so that when the time did come, we'd be able to talk about it."

"Look at us, being all mature," she murmured with a slight smile. She flipped the folder shut. "You expecting me to freak out?"

"A little."

She laughed. "I'm not. Yes, it's a big thing. A really big thing." She shrugged. "So we'll talk about it, we'll figure out what we want to do, and that's what we'll do." She laughed again. "And if your mom didn't already have enough reason to hate me, well this is a good one."

"That's it?" Logan asked skeptically.

"That's it." She smiled at him again. Her foot kicked lightly against his under the table. "Thank you for not keeping this from me." She leaned back in her chair and tilted her head against the sun. "I guess this means I should probably write something spectacular to submit to your father's people, huh?"

Logan's shoulders straightened. "You're thinking about taking him up on his offer?"

"Maybe." She bit her lower lip. "Why? Do you think it's a bad idea?"

"No," he said quickly. "I don't at all, I just don't want you to think you have to do it."

"I don't," she reassured him. "But he was right. So were you, when you mentioned it. There's really nothing stopping me from going back to writing except my own stupid fear of suddenly sucking at it." She smiled at him again. "And we both know I'm very all about facing down my fears these days."

He shook his head and leaned across the table to kiss her. "You will not suddenly suck at writing," he promised. "Have you given any thought as to which direction you'd like to take it in this time?"

She shrugged. "Not especially. I figure that if I can manage to get anything written, whatever I have will be pretty indicative of where I should be."

"Royal wedding watch?" Logan teased. "You could go all foreign correspondent on it and report on all of the upcoming wedding activities."

Rory laughed. "Well now, that would be interesting. Maybe I should just write the story of us."

Logan tilted his head. "That's not a bad idea, actually."

"I was joking," she protested. "No one wants to read that kind of stuff. I'm not a fiction writer."

"So don't fictionalize it," he said rationally. "And who says you necessarily have to write for one of the daily's? There's always magazines, and who doesn't love a good love story?"

"You're serious about this?"

Logan shrugged. "It's a great story, if I say so myself. Turn it into a series of articles. Are you kidding me? People, women especially, eat this kind of stuff up? You've seen the William and Kate obsession."

"So now you're equating us to British royalty?" Despite their banter, Rory was slowly beginning to warm to the idea. "Maybe you're on to something." She clasped his hand in hers again. "Of course, to make it worth anything, you're really going to have to give me an ending made of pure gold, you know that, right?"

He held her gaze for a long moment before returning her smile. "I'm working on it, Ace."

"I'm working on it."


	9. Leave the Light On

**Author's Note: **Sorry about the delay in this chapter, but my sister just got married, and well, being maid-of-honor in a wedding that is 5 hours north of where you live, and making many many trips there and back within two months kind of left little to no time for writing. But I'm back now, and things have slowed down and we're almost done with this story. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9 - Leave the Light On<strong>  
><em>I'm so good at forgetting<br>and I quit every game I've played  
>but forgive me love<br>I can't turn and walk away ~ Back to You_

During the entire time she had dated Logan, Jen couldn't remember a time when Mitchum had asked to meet with her privately, and she was smart enough to know that this probably wasn't going to be the social visit his secretary had made it out to be. She had tentatively agreed to the meeting and then spent the next 20 hours trying to figure out what he wanted from her.

She had taken extra pains in getting dressed that morning. She told herself that Mitchum was no different than any other red-blooded male; he was known to enjoy the company of a pretty blonde every now and then. She smirked as she wondered if that was the purpose of this meeting and thought of how fitting that would be. And, if she was honest with herself, she wasn't sure she would turn such an offer down.

Jen arrived twenty minutes earlier, anticipating to beat him there, but was surprised to find him already waiting for her. Forcing a smile onto her face, she took a deep breath and strode toward his table. "Mitchum," she said brightly. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting long?"

"Jen." He dutifully pecked the cheek she offered to him and then held out a chair for her. "How have you been?"

"I've been well," she said pleasantly. "I haven't had a chance to tell you, but I enjoyed your anniversary party so much. It was just lovely, Shira did a wonderful job arranging everything." She gave him a sad smile. "I really do wish things had gone differently with Logan, I would have loved to have been a part of your family."

Mitchum raised an eyebrow at her. She didn't waste any time getting her digs in but he certainly didn't have the time to play nice either. "That is a nice sentiment, but I think you and I both know that was never going to happen, Jen."

Her shoulders straightened defensively and she took a sharp breath, irritated. "Logan and I had our differences yes, but I do think that-"

"Logan was cheating on you from the moment he met you," he said bluntly. "We both know Rory was never far from his mind or his bed as it so happens.."

Now Jen was infuriated. Of course he was here to talk about Rory. She smiled tightly. "Yes. Well. I can only assume that Logan's infidelity was a trait he no doubt learned from you."

Mitchum laughed. "You've got an ugly streak," he noted, not unkindly. "Had it been different circumstances, you and I could have gotten along well."

She raised her eyebrow slightly. "Are you saying we can't?"

"That is what I'm saying, yes." He saw no reason not to be direct. "It appears that you and I have a slight problem, Jen. That's why I asked you to meet me today."

She sat back expectantly. "You'll have to be more specific, I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course you do. I'm talking about Logan and Rory."

She rolled her eyes and tried to look bored. "I have nothing to do with them," she said. "As you pointed out, he was cheating on me with her for quite some time. You'll forgive me if I don't have any sympathy for whatever it is she's gone and done to him now."

"Sympathy, no. Contempt, well, that's a different story." He paused and took a drink, after pouring her one from the bottle on the table. "It comes to my attention that you've attempted something of a poor excuse for a smear campaign against Rory continuing her career here in California."

"If she's having trouble finding work, you can hardly expect me to be at fault," Jen protested. "Perhaps its her lackluster personality?" She felt her chest tighten as Mitchum wordlessly slid an envelope toward her on the table. "What is this?"

"Open it."

She eyed him warily for a moment before breaking the seal on the envelope. Out fell several black and white photos of her in what could only be construed as compromising situations. "You've had me followed?" she asked incredulously.

Mitchum chuckled. "You're surprised? My dear, the pace and manner in which you tried to establish yourself in my family alone was more than enough to raise some red flags." He shrugged. "I also know how Logan felt about the relationship, and that coupled with the not so pleasant matter in which he ended things? Any smart business man , no, any _father_, would expect some sort of retaliation. I will say, going after Rory was fairly obvious and not at all inspired, but Jen, I expected better from you. If you're going to try to tarnish someone's reputation by trying to label them as a talentless homewrecker trying to market herself in a family oriented situation, the first thing you're going to not want to do yourself is sleep with a married man. A well-known and respected married man at that."

She leaned close, her eyes snapping angrily. "Doesn't seem to stop women from sleeping with you," she hissed.

"I'm not a government official," he shot back. "Take a closer look at those pictures, Ms. Buckner. You'll notice that several of them predate your break-up with Logan, meaning you weren't exactly as faithful to him as you'd like everyone to believe."

Jen closed her eyes briefly, trying to regain her composure. She really thought she had been careful when it came to her relationship with Elliott, but she knew just how disastrous it would be if it was leaked. "What is it that you want from me?" she asked finally.

"I want you to leave my family alone," Mitchum said simply. "Don't contact anyone, not my wife or my daughter, especially not Logan and Rory. Walk away now, and this stays between us. Believe me, I have no interest in ruining a good man's career over his questionable taste in women."

"And your son?" she asked snidely.

"Logan always had mostly questionable taste in women. But no, I don't find it necessary to clue him in on your own indiscretions at the moment. Believe me though, when I say that I won't hesitate to if you don't go away."

Jen took a deep breath but knew she had nothing to say. She could manipulate Logan and scores of other men easily, but even she knew when she was out of her league. "You have my word," she said quietly.

"Good." Mitchum leaned back in his chair. "Take care of yourself Jen." He raised an eyebrow at her. "And don't be so careless, most men in my position wouldn't have been as easy."

She stood up from her chair and gave him another tight smile. "I'd say you're anything but easy," she admitted. "Goodbye Mitchum."

He watched as she walked away, satisfied with the meeting. Though he'd always kept a watchful eye on his children, he rarely ever interfered with their personal lives anymore. He had known long before anyone that Logan and Rory had been seeing each other but he also knew better than to push the issue. He would never admit to making mistakes in how he had raised his children, but Mitchum knew a wrong needing to be made right when he saw it, and if there was anything he could do to help repair the relationship between Logan and Rory, than he would do whatever was necessary.

He just hoped it would always be as easy as this particular meeting had been.

* * *

><p>"I so don't want to be here," Rory hissed in her mother's ear as Lorelai rang the doorbell to the elder Gilmore's house.<p>

"Nobody ever wants to be here," Lorelai said blithely. She forced a smile onto her face as the door swung open and they were greeted not by a maid, but by Emily herself.

"Richard, the girls are here!" She called over her shoulder. "Come in, come in. Lorelai, where's Luke? Couldn't he get away from the diner?"

"He couldn't, Mom, I tried."

"Well. we'll see him next time. Hello Rory, that's a pretty dress you're wearing." Emily leaned in to give her surprised granddaughter a hug. "How have you been? I heard you were in California for awhile?"

"I'm good, Grandma, thank you." Rory was confused. The last time she had seen her grandparents was at the Huntzbergers' party, and she hadn't been expecting such a warm reception from Emily. "I did go visit Logan for a bit, yes."

"I imagine you'll be moving out that way soon, then?" Emily called for Richard again before heading to the bar to fix drinks.

"That is the plan," Rory said cautiously, giving her mother a bewildered look. Lorelai just shrugged and took the martini Emily handed her.

"Richard spoke to Mitchum a few days ago at the Club," Emily admitted. "And he told him how he had seen the two of you while he was over there, and how well everything seemed to be going." Emily raised an eyebrow. "Is it? Going well, that is?" Her eyes drifted down toward Rory's hand.

Rory laughed. "I'm not engaged yet, Grandma, don't worry."

"Yet? So it's a yet?"

"It will happen when it's right," Rory said with a smile. She tilted her head to the side. "And you're okay with that? The last time we spoke-"

Emily waved her hand through the air. "The last time we spoke, I only knew that you were possibly one of Logan's side flings. We all know that's not the case now." She smirked. "And from what I hear, Shira is not thrilled at all over this reunion." She failed to keep the smugness out of her voice.

So that was it, Rory realized. Emily was taking pleasure in Shira's displeasure. "No, well, Shira's never been my biggest fan, but we seem to have Mitchum on our side, so that's something."

"Indeed it is, Rory. You'll be in good hands in that family, trust me." Emily frowned. "Richard!" she called again, stamping her foot. "You're missing drinks, and if you don't hurry, you'll miss dinner too! Don't think I'm holding it for you!"

"Calm down, Emily." Richard emerged from his office to give both of his girls a hug before pouring himself a drink. "Have we gotten through the banal chit chat yet, or do I need to go back into my office for a few more minutes?"

"We were just talking about Rory's impending move to California," Emily informed him. Rory nearly choked on her drink.

"Nothing's finalized," she said when she caught her breath. "Yes, the plan is to move out there, but we don't know when yet."

"Well what are you waiting for?" Emily asked bluntly.

Lorelai stifled a laugh. "Yeah Kid, what are you waiting for?" she echoed. Rory glared at her.

"So why isn't Luke here again, Mom?" she asked, desperate to get the conversation away from her.

"All right Rory, we'll leave you alone," Emily teased. "But yes, Lorelai, why isn't Luke here?"

Now it was Rory's turn to sit back and smirk as her mom tried to explain Luke's absence. She was curious as to what exactly Mitchum and her grandfather had talked about at the club, and she wondered if he would have dared to mention the whole business deal he had dropped into their laps. If he had, surely Emily would have said something? On the other hand, it would explain Emily's unusually good mood. She didn't have much time to think about it though, as soon Emily was moving them into the dining room, all the while discussing the Dragonfly's latest events with Lorelai.

They hit a lull during the third course and Rory decided to poke around and see what she could find out. "Did you two ever meet Logan's grandmother?" she asked.

"Elias' wife?" Emily set her fork down and looked over at Richard. "What was her name again?"

"Evangeline," Richard said with a nod.

"Angie, that's right! She was a bit older than me, but I do remember her from many of the charity events and well, just around town. Of course, she wasn't a member of the DAR, but she didn't let that stop her from working right along with us. She was lovely, quite the opposite of Elias," Emily added as an afterthought.

"I know that she didn't like Shira very much," Rory said casually.

"Well, she was a smart woman," Emily said with a glint in her eye.

"She certainly didn't care for Shira," Richard agreed. "Caused quite the uproar if I remembered correctly. Caused a lot of changes in how that family was run, many for the better." He smiled knowingly at Rory and she knew instantly that he knew exactly what she was fishing for.

"What is it with women in this town disliking their son's choice in a wife?" Lorelai mused. "Logan's grandma, Shira, Gran..." her voice trailed off at the sharp look Emily gave her. "Just something to think about," she said defensively with a smirk.

Rory's eyes swept over the table as her grandparents and mother began yet another lively debate, and she was surprised when she realized she would actually miss family dinners once she moved. For the most part, anyways. On the other hand, she also realized she couldn't wait until she was having dinner with Logan more than once a month.

And just like that something switched in her head and she knew that she didn't want to spend any more time apart from Logan. It was time for her to make her move.

* * *

><p>Paris looked around the ransacked living room before turning back to Rory with her best puppy-dog expression. And that look coming from Paris, was almost more than Rory could take. "So you're really doing it, huh?" she asked. "You're really moving in with him?"<p>

"I really am," Rory confirmed with a sad smile. It was just four days since she had made up her mind at Friday night dinner and tomorrow she was leaving for California. She had started her preparations almost immediately that Friday night; tying up loose ends, seeing friends she knew she wouldn't see for awhile, and packing up all of her things.

To say Logan was thrilled was putting it mildly. She couldn't help but smile as she remembered the night she had told him during their routine phone call.

"_And how were Richard and Emily tonight?"_

_"In surprisingly chipper moods," Rory confessed. "Apparently Grandpa and your dad have been doing some talking, and the grandparents are back to being over the moon thrilled that we're back together."_

_"His hair and her eyes, huh?" Logan teased._

_"Pretty much."_

_"Well that's good though," Logan commented. "So tell me about your day. Anything exciting?"_

_"Nah, same as always. What's your schedule look like next week?"_

_"Next week?" She heard him move around to check his calendar. "Nothing spectacular, why? What's up? You miss me that much already, thinking about coming back to visit?"_

_"Miss you, yes. Come visit you, not so much. But, I was thinking about maybe possibly moving in with you next week? If that offer is still on the table, of course." There was silence on the other end of the line. "Logan?"_

_"You want to move in?"_

_"Mmhmm."_

_"Next week."_

_"Mmhmm."_

_"Here in California?"_

_She laughed. "Have you moved in the last twelve hours? Yes, to California. Preferably into your house. Again, if you still want me."_

_"Oh I want you."_

_"To move in," she clarified._

_"That too." Logan paused. "Are you sure you're ready?"_

_"I'm ready," she promised. "Logan, we both know this is right, I can't tell you why I held off for as long as I did, but what I can say is that I was sitting at dinner tonight with everyone and all I could think about was how ready I was for us to have that."_

_"When do you think you'll be here?"_

_"I was thinking Wednesday, with my things getting there on Friday." Again,he was silent. "What?"_

_"You're really doing this?"_

_She laughed. "I'm really moving, yes. I miss you, Logan. There's absolutely no reason for us to be apart from each other anymore. This has gone on long enough."_

_"I'm sorry, I've just been waiting awhile for you to actually admit that."_

_"Now's not the time to point out how stubborn I've been, Buddy."_

_"Would you rather I wait until you're moving your things in to point it out then?" Logan laughed. "I'm just... I'm_

_sorry, but this is big. Huge even."_

_"Think you're ready for it?"_

_"Already trying to figure out how to get Henry out of storage and shipped here, Ace."_

_She laughed. "He can stay in storage. He likes it there, he told me so." She had completely forgotten about that hunk of metal and was perfectly content to not have it in her living room again._

_"Aw come on, it's not our house if Henry's not here!"_

_Rory smiled. "Our house, huh?"_

_"Our house," he confirmed, his voice warmer than she had heard it in a long time._

"Will you change your mind if I tell you I think you're making the biggest mistake of your life?" Paris's voice brought her back to reality and she turned to look at the other woman.

"Do you think I'm making the biggest mistake of my life?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No," Paris admitted with a sigh. "But come on, California? I hate the sun. I may never be able to visit you." She shot a quick glare in her direction. "Don't say that's a good thing either, you know you're going to miss me, Gilmore."

"Of course I'm going to miss you!" Rory gave her a genuine smile. "Paris, you're one of my best friends, you know that. And if you don't like California, well, it's a good thing I love New York. I promise I'll be back to visit." She smirked. "Besides, with you and Doyle getting married soon, well, I have to be around to see how that plays out."

"Funny. I may kill him without you here to be my sounding off board, you realize this, right?"

"If that happens, call me and I will be on the first plane back to bail you out of jail," Rory promised. She grimaced as she took another look around the living room. Packing was a bigger nightmare than she remembered and she really had no idea if she'd be finished by the time the movers arrived the next morning. _Screw it, _she thought to herself. "Let's go out," she suggested to Paris. "Dinner and drinks on me?"

Packing could wait. She and Paris deserved one more night out on the town.

* * *

><p>She was still fumbling with the key and trying not to drop her bag when the front door swung open. "Ace!" Logan's face was full of confusion. "What are you doing here?" he asked as he pulled her into the house and gave her a hug.<p>

She pulled back and looked up at him. "You're joking right?" She gave a short laugh as his expression didn't change. Her eyes fell to the hallway floor where his own luggage sat. "You're not joking, Seriously, Logan?"

Realization dawned on his face. "Shit. Rory." He sighed. "There's so no way I can even try and make this okay."

"You forgot I was moving in," she said, her voice carrying absolutely no hint of irony. She raised her eyes to the ceiling and shook her head. "And what's with the bags? Business trip?"

"Chicago, back on Saturday." He ran his hand over his face and sighed. "I'm so sorry. This is huge. Please don't be mad, it's not that I didn't forget, at all, believe me, I'm so happy that you're here and that you're finally moving in. But then Mike just up and walked out of the company this morning and everyone is freaking out and-" He stopped and sighed. "Just let me make a few phone calls and I'll get someone else to go. I'm sorry Ace, I can't believe I'm blowing this. You have to unders-" He was startled when she stepped forward and silenced him with a kiss.

"Go," she said softly. She laughed at his puzzled expression. "Logan, it's okay."

"It's not okay."

"It is," she insisted. "Besides," she added teasingly. "I'm still unemployed, one of us needs to work."

"But-"

She sighed. "Of course I'm disappointed you won't be here, but we both know that sometimes, you have to leave town for work. This isn't anything new to you or me."

"You moving in is new! I have been waiting for this for almost three years Rory, and now it's actually happening and I forget because of some stupid work crisis?" He pulled away from her and began looking for his phone. "I'm not going."

"Logan." She tugged on his arm and forced him to look at her. "You're really upset," she noted with a frown.

"Of course I'm upset!" He let her guide him into the living room before he spoke again. "I'm not stupid Rory. I know that one of your biggest concerns about moving out here, about moving in with me at all, was that all I would do is work nonstop, that I wouldn't have any time for you or for us. Fuck Rory, it's part of why you turned me down before, because you were afraid I'd always put work first. And now you're finally here and what am I doing?"

Rory tilted her head to the side. "Are you afraid that I'm going to just turn around and head back to New York?"

"Shouldn't I be?" he asked bitterly.

"Logan." She walked over to where he was sitting and straddled his legs, facing him. "I'm not going anywhere," she promised. "I told you, we're past all of that, I'm not scared that I'm always going to come second. I know where I stand with you. Where we stand," she corrected. "And okay, yes, it sucks that you're not going to be here while I move all of my things in, but honestly? We both know you'd just be in my way." Her hands moved from his shoulders to the back of his neck as she leaned forward and kissed him again.

"This is one time I should be in your way." His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her even closer.

"It's not a big house," she pointed out sweetly. "We have the rest of our lives to get in each others way." She dipped her head again to catch his lips between hers. He surprised her by anchoring her to him, deepening their kiss fiercely.

"You're amazing," he breathed into her hair. "I love you."

"I'm going to remind you of that when you're complaining about my coffee mugs laying around the house, or when I don't leave you any milk for your cereal in the morning," she whispered.

"As long as you actually leave me cereal, I won't complain," he promised. She shivered as his mouth moved over her neck, beneath her hair.

"Don't you have a plane to catch?" she murmured, her own lips following a very detailed trail over his skin. "Not that I'm complaining."

"Private plane," he reminded her. "I can leave whenever I want." His hands pushed up under her shirt and almost had her bra unsnapped before she swatted his hands away. He pulled back and looked at her with raised eyebrows as she moved off of his lap and pulled him up to a stand. "What are you doing?"

"If you can leave whenever you want, then take me upstairs and welcome me home properly," she said with a gleam in her eye. Not one to argue when presented with a good idea, Logan was quick to grab her hand and lead her up the stairs to the bedroom.

"Do you think you'll still want me like this after I've been here four months?" Rory rolled over onto her side as she watched Logan get dressed again.

"Probably not," he said seriously. "I mean, let's face it, after month two you're probably going to stop wearing make up and shaving your legs. The only thing you'll wear to bed is sweatpants. Plus, all that snoring is a real mood killer."

"That's what I figure too." She threw a pillow at him. "Jerk! I don't snore."

He caught the pillow and brought it back over to the bed with him. She raised herself up to her knees and slid her arms around his waist. "Of course you don't," he said patronizingly as he kissed her. "It's all in my head." Another kiss landed on her lips. "I promise, I will never stop wanting you like this, even after we're an old boring married couple."

"Damn right you will." She smiled. "Have a safe flight, okay? And call me when you get there."

"I will," he promised. They kissed again. "You're really doing this, right?"

She laughed. "I really am. No turning back now," she vowed. She was finding it difficult to extract herself from his embrace and gave a rueful laugh. "I don't want you to leave," she confessed.

Logan groaned and buried his face in her neck. Truthfully he didn't want to leave either. And he was still kicking himself for having to go on the trip in the first place. He was two seconds from canceling the trip altogether, the consequences he could deal with later. He was almost certain it would be easier to deal with than the fallout of him actually leaving her on her very first day there.

"I know you have to go," she said quickly, running her hand over his head. "And I promise you I'm okay with it, but that doesn't mean I want you to go." She smiled as his grip tightened on her. "I've never been a big fan of you leaving. Huge fan of you coming back though," she added as an afterthought.

"So you're saying my welcome back celebrations will be reinstated?" He pulled his head back to look at her with a glint in his eye.

"Maybe." She smiled but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "You better go," she said reluctantly. "If you don't, then I'm going to ask you to stay."

"You can," he said seriously.

She shook her head. "No, it's okay. Work stuff is always going to happen, we'll just figure us out along the way." She shrugged. "Besides, with you gone, I can snoop through all of your things and you won't even know."

"I've got nothing to hide."

She raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Nothing at all?"

He shrugged and held his arms out wide. "I'm an open book when it comes to you, Ace," he declared. She got up and followed him back down the stairs into the hallway. "But have fun snooping. Let me know if you find anything good." He kissed her again. "I will call you when I land."

"I'll be waiting. Have a safe trip." She smiled and leaned against the door frame as he picked his luggage up and headed down the driveway. She stayed there for a few moments after he was gone and took in the quiet neighborhood. She knew that getting used to living on this particular cul-de-sac would not take her long at all.

Once back inside, she looked around the living room with a frown. None of her stuff would be there until tomorrow, so she really didn't have anything to unpack, and now with Logan gone for the night, she didn't have any type of plans at all. She didn't feel like calling Violet and playing the alone in a new city card just yet, so she pressed further into the living room and found herself gravitating toward the bookshelf.

After a cross country flight and a particularly rigorous and creative sexual escapade, a good book, a glass of wine and the hot tub sounded like the perfect way to end the day.

* * *

><p>"So everything is in?"<p>

"Everything is in," Rory declared, looking around. "Unpacked, reorganized, combined with your things. We are officially back to living together. Excited?"

"More than you know."

"Good, because I'm not moving my things back out," she teased. "So how's everything there? Get it all figured out?"

"Oh, it's all kind of a disaster," Logan admitted. "But now that I know about it, hopefully I can stop more people from walking out."

She frowned. "It's that serious?"

"It could be." He hesitated. "I'm trying to keep things running as well as possible. In case I sell it all."

Rory's breath caught in her throat. "So that's an option?" she asked finally. She could picture his shrug over the phone.

"I'm keeping our options open," he said easily. "But this is not a conversation to have over the phone, and we have plenty of time to talk it over so don't worry about that. The good news is, I'll be home first thing in the morning. You should probably have breakfast ready and waiting for me."

She laughed. "You'll be lucky if I can even get out of bed tomorrow. Moving furniture by yourself is hard work," she added needlessly.

"Are you okay?" His voice was now full of concern.

"I'm fine, just out of shape," she said honestly. "And we both know I was never made to do heavy lifting as a full time gig."

"Well leave everything else until I get there, don't hurt yourself."

"I'm fine!" she insisted. "I do need to go soon though, Rosemary and Juliet are in town, and want to show me all of the amazing shopping they say this town has to offer."

Logan laughed. "You can't even unpack all of your things before you get new ones?" he teased. "You said so yourself, Ace, it's a small house, let's not go crazy."

"Oh stop, you know I'm very frugal when it comes to shopping," she lied. "Unless shoes are involved, then I can't be held responsible for what I do. But I promise I'll buy you something pretty."

"Yes, because I don't have enough pretty things," he said dryly. "Well, I'll let you go then. Have fun with the girls and I'll talk to you tonight, okay?"

"Sounds good, don't work yourself too hard. Love you."

"Love you too." Logan hung up the phone and laughed to himself. Poor Rory was still so unassuming when it came to his big ideas. It wasn't coincidence that the girls were in town that exact day; he had needed them to get Rory out of the house long enough to set up his surprise for her.

Speaking of said surprise, he looked at his watch and picked up his phone again. He had a few more calls to make to see that everything was in order.

It was early evening by the time Rory finally made it back to the house and she was startled to see the lights were already on as she unlocked the front door and let herself in. "Logan?" she called hesitantly, stepping into the foyer. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she was greeted by an overly blonde woman in a white uniform.

"Mr. Huntzberger sent me," she said pleasantly, as she handed her an envelope.

"Of course he did," she muttered, sliding her finger beneath the seal. It was a handwritten note from Logan, explaining that he couldn't stop thinking about how she had moved everything on her own, and that some pampering time was needed. He wasn't leaving her room for arguing, she was to go upstairs and relax for half an hour in the bath that had been prepared for her, and then enjoy the massage Nedra was there to provide.

Rory wasn't a fool, she knew better than to turn this down. And her muscles were killing her. She smiled as she set the note down and made her way upstairs to the master bathroom. She opened the door to find that Logan had seen to every last detail, from the moscato wine she enjoyed to the bamboo scented candles, right down to her favorite lavender bubble bath. Peeling her clothes off, she was instantly soothed the second she dipped the first toe into the bathwater.

Half an hour later she reluctantly pulled herself out of the bathtub and dried off before sliding into the robe that was hanging on the back of the door. She was curious as to how Logan knew what her favorite spa items were but she didn't want to dwell on it for too long. She would chalk it up right along with his eye for sizes and colors where picking out dresses for her and leave it at that. Sometimes, a little mystery was good for their relationship.

A massage table had been set up in the bedroom, along with more candles and though she couldn't see a sound system anywhere, the room was complete with the cheesy yet relaxing soft music. Rory smiled at Nedra, who told her to make herself comfortable on the table while she excused herself, and that she would be back in several minutes to start the massage. She dropped the robe on the chair next to the bed and settled herself face down on the table. It had been months since her last massage and she was absolutely looking forward to this.

She closed her eyes as she heard the bedroom door open again and took a few deep breaths to relax herself. As much as she loved massages, she still always found it unnerving to be mostly naked in a room with another woman.

Her nerves disappeared immediately as a familiar pair of warm hands fell onto her shoulders. She rolled her head to the side and opened her eyes halfway. "I was really hoping for Nedra," she said lazily, her lips curving into a smile.

Logan shook his head at her. "Like I'd ever let anyone else touch this body." He bent and pressed a kiss between her shoulder blades. "Besides, I'd really hate it if Nedra could do this." He applied a slight amount of pressure to her lower back, eliciting a low moan from her. "No one else should get that reaction from you."

"What are you doing home early? Not that I'm not happy to see you, because I am, but you said everything was still a mess..." her voice trailed off as his fingers dug deeper into her back.

"Don't worry about work," he said. "I've got it under control. Besides, I wasn't exactly useful there when all I could think about was you being here. Trust me, it was easier on everyone the sooner I got back here." His hands continued to work lower. "You can't tell me you didn't miss me."

"Oh I've missed you." She rolled over slowly and smiled up at him as he lifted her to a sitting position. She pulled his arms around her back and met his lips head-on in a kiss.

"Your massage," he protested as her legs went around his waist.

"If it's that important to you, I'm all for you continuing with that after we're done," she murmured as her fingers pulled the buttons of his shirt through their holes. "But right now, how about we just focus on welcoming you home properly?"

Even Logan couldn't find fault with that logic. He was more than happy to sweep her up off of the table and carry her over to the bed. Crawling over her sprawling form, he looked down at her and dipped his head, latching onto one particular spot behind her ear.

"Why don't we welcome each other home?" he suggested as he settled his weight on top of her. She nodded her agreement and opened her mouth to his as her hands found his, lacing together on either side of her head.

In this particular moment Rory couldn't even remember why she had fought moving to California in the first place, but now, she couldn't ever imagine being anywhere else. The only question that lay heavy on her mind was an inevitable one.

When was Logan going to ask her to marry him?


	10. The Best of Me

**Author's note: **And now, back to this story. It's the final stretch... two more chapters after this one, and I don't know about you, but I'm excited to get back into it!

**Chapter 10 - The Best Of Me (Is Still Hiding Up My Sleeve)**  
><em><br>They love to tell you  
><em>_Stay inside the lines  
><em>_but something's better  
><em>_on the other side ~ No Such Thing_

"Wait, wait, wait," Lorelai could barely form a coherent sentence, she was laughing so hard. "He actually forgot that you were moving in?" Another fit of giggles erupted on her end of the phone line. "Like, he didn't just doublebook himself, no, he forgot. That you, his girlfriend. Was moving across the country to move into his house?"

Rory sighed. Maybe telling her mother had been a mistake. "It's really not that funny, Mom."

"No, you're right, it's not. It's hilarious," Lorelai said seriously. "Rory, he's been after you to move in with him for what? Forever now it seems! And then he forgets?" She began laughing all over again. "I really hope you're making his life miserable for that one."

"I'm not, actually," Rory said stubbornly.

Lorelai finally regained her composure. "Okay, so for real, let's talk about this. Were you furious?"

"I was upset, but I didn't lose my head over it," she admitted. "There would have been no point, and I've got to get used to his business trips again anyways; he just had one sooner than I had expected." She smirked to herself. "He more than made up for it, as it is."

"I'm going to skip over that sentence and not think about whatever that could mean." Lorelai sighed into the phone. "So you're really over there? Now that you've moved to Sweet Valley, are you all bleached blonde and tanned?"

"Pretty sure Sweet Valley was near LA, but no, I'm not a Wakefield twin just yet," Rory promised. "And yes, I'm really here and all settled in and you know what? It's really not so bad."

"Well you kind of have to say that now that you live there finally," Lorelai pointed out. "I am glad to hear that you're enjoying yourself so far though." She hesitated. "I know it's only been a week, but have you begun the job search again?"

This time Rory hesitated. "Actually, I might..." she sighed. "Mitchum offered me a chance to submit something to any of his publications," she spit out quickly.

Lorelai was silent for a minute. "You're thinking about writing again?"

"I am. I've been working on something here and there, but I'm not really sure where it fits into. It's not groundbreaking by any means, more of a social commentary, I guess, but it's writing, and I'm really happy to be writing again," she confessed.

"Okay." She could hear Lorelai smiling through the phone. "Well, I don't know what to say Rory, that's really great. I always knew you'd end up writing again."

"You did?"

"I know you better than anyone else, Kid, don't you dare forget that." Lorelai paused thoughtfully. "You know what else I like? He's not straight out giving you a job."

"He knows I wouldn't take it if he did,"

"Exactly, he's making an effort to do things the right way. Logan's family hasn't really stepped up like that before, you know?"

"I know."

"So while Logan was gone, did you search that house for your engagement ring?" Rory's silence told her everything she needed to know. "Good girl! Did you find anything?"

"No!" Rory's tone was that of pure frustration. She had felt guilty at the time she was snooping through things, but now, knowing she hadn't been able to find anything, she was just plain irritated by it. "There's no ring anywhere!"

Lorelai laughed. "Well, he's probably smart enough to not keep it in the house," she pointed out logically. "I mean, since he now lives with a snooper."

"Shut up! I just... " she sighed. "I moved out here, like we planned, and the next step in our plan was to get married, you know?"

"Was the plan to get married immediately after moving out there?"

"No but... I mean... we didn't exactly discuss time frames," she confessed. "Just that we'd do it when the time was right."

"Then my guess is, the time's not quite right yet. You know it's coming Rory, not knowing when isn't something to get stressed over."

"You know I hate surprises."

"And you know that Logan loves them," Lorelai pointed out.

"I know," she grumbled. They fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments before Lorelai wisely changed the subject to the latest antics of Stars Hollow.

Twenty minutes later Rory wandered from the living room into Logan's office. He was so focused on the file he was reading that he didn't even notice her standing in the doorway. She stood there for a few seconds, watching him, before clearing her throat softly.

He looked up and smiled. "Hey." He motioned for her to come toward him. "How's Lorelai? Did you guys have a good talk?" She perched herself on the edge of his desk, careful not to disturb anything and nodded.

"Mom's good, she and Luke seem to be doing really well." She leaned back and scanned his desk. "I'm not bothering you, am I? I just wanted to come in and say hi."

He laughed. "I'm not working, not officially. This is all LDB business."

She raised an eyebrow and tried to grab the papers out of his hand but he was too quick for her. "The LDB? Seriously? I thought once you were past the age of 25, you weren't allowed into their super cool parties anymore." She reached again for the papers but he held them just out of reach.

"Call it an alumni meeting of sorts then." He shrugged.

She frowned. "Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the last stunt end with you in the hospital with several broken ribs, a concussion and a lot of pain?"

"That wasn't an official event, that was me being stupid after you and I had a fight," he reminded her.

"Oh right, that's so much better. Still." She kicked his shin lightly. "You're not twenty-two, Logan, jumping off of scaffolding isn't as easy as it used to be. I'm not saying you're out of shape by any means, but well, you do spend an awful lot of your time sitting at a desk now."

He pretended to look offended. "Are you saying I'm not as lithe and limber as I used to be? Rory Gilmore, are you calling me old?" He was out of his chair and had her flat on her back on his desk before she even knew it. Papers scattered around them and they were both laughing. "Would an old man be able to do this so easily?" he asked, leaning fully over her to kiss her.

"God I hope so," she murmured, enjoying his hands on her. She laughed as he pulled back and raised an eyebrow to her. "I'm just saying, we'll be old eventually. I'd very much prefer you always be able to do this."

"Me too," he agreed, bending low to kiss her again. "So, I saw you writing pretty intently earlier today," he mentioned, lifting himself off of her.

Okay. Kissing time was over. Rory accepted the hand he offered her to pull herself up and ran a hand through her hair. "I was," she agreed cautiously.

"What are you working on?"

"Something for your dad," she said casually. She began reorganizing the papers on his desk, trying not to make eye contact.

He stared at her for a moment. "Yes, that sounds like something I'd absolutely want to read," he teased lightly. She smiled but didn't answer him. "Is it really a secret?" he pressed.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "You know I don't like sharing my stuff before its finished," she reminded him. "And I'm not even sure if this is any good, so I'm not getting my hopes up or anything."

"Well what's the subject matter?" he asked, hoping to get at least that out of her. He had been secretly thrilled when he had come down into the kitchen that morning to see her propped up at the breakfast bar with a cup of coffee and typing away furiously at her computer. He had recognized Writing-Mode Rory almost immediately, even if it had been years since he'd been privy to it and was happy to see her working her way back towards print.

Rory shrugged again and he could see she was uncomfortable with the conversation so he decided not to push it further. "Check this out," he said, motioning to a stack of papers to the left of where she was sitting. He took the top page and handed it to her. "Colin emailed it over this morning."

"What is it?" She scanned the email and then with wide eyes, flipped to the next page. "Jen Buckner is pregnant?" Her eyes narrowed as she raised an eyebrow. "It better not be yours."

"Robert's," he said with a smirk. He laughed at the expression on her face. "I guess they really hit it off at my parent's party."

"I guess so." She quickly read through Colin's entire email. "Wait, there's a paternity suit pending? I'm shocked." She frowned as she looked up at him. "Why are you and Colin exchanging emails on what I'm assuming is strictly confidential matters?"

Logan shrugged. "Sometimes, it's too good to keep quiet," he reasoned.

"I bet Jen would beg to differ." She set the pages down on the desk again and another stack caught her eye. "HPG shareholdings?"

"Oh that." Logan tried to look nonchalant. "I figured it couldn't hurt to get an idea of where the company was at financially, you know? Maybe start putting together a plan to present to everyone if it came down to it. Feel free to look at it," he said hastily.

"Nah, that's okay," she said casually. She had no interest in the financial side of the business and they both knew it. Still, Rory appreciated the sentiment. She slid off of the desk and bent to kiss Logan's cheek. "I'll let you get back to work, I've got some stuff to do this afternoon."

"Stuff? What kind of stuff?"

"Does it matter?" she asked innocently. They both knew she was going to go hide out in the bedroom and continue writing, but she wasn't about to commit to that.

He gave her a wide smile. "Of course it doesn't. You have fun with your stuff." He looked at his watch. "I've got a couple of hour's worth of work left to do here; how about I come find you when I'm done, and we'll go out and do something fun for the afternoon?"

"Sounds like a plan." She smiled at him again before leaving the office and heading into their bedroom.

When she had started writing again, she hadn't planned on doing the majority of her writing in their bedroom, but as it turned out, the windowseat that overlooked the backyard had quickly become her favorite spot in the entire house. The sunlight was never directly in her eyes, but provided enough light and warmth during the day to stay consistently pleasant and the view was either inspiring or distracting, depending on what she needed it to be at any given moment. She could curl up against the pillows with her latop and write for hours without even realizing it.

And that's exactly what happened. Before she knew it, Logan knocked on the door frame and she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Sorry." He laughed at her. "I thought you heard me in the hallway."

She saved her work and closed the computer. "Get your important LDB business done?"

"Maybe." His gaze turned towards the window. "Want to go to the beach?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Let's just hang out here," she countered. "The backyard's basically the same as the beach," she pointed out. "Just not as many people."

Logan nodded. "Planning on going topless," he said as seriously as he could.

"Shut up." She smacked his arm as she brushed past him to change into her swimsuit.

"It's okay if you are," he called after her. "We both know I'm a big fan of it."

"You're an idiot," she yelled back from the depths of the closet. He was about to answer when she heard his cell phone ring. It was Finn, she was able to establish that before she heard him say he needed to step out of the room to finish the call. That was interesting, she thought to herself. He never took his phone calls in private unless it was work related. Then she remembered that he had been working on Life and Death Brigade stuff and assumed it had to have something to do with that. And LDB business was never a comforting thought, especially after Logan's adventure in Costa Rica.

It wasn't until she was dressed and heading downstairs that she was struck by the thought that maybe, just maybe the Life and Death Brigade business had something to do with their impending engagement.

And once that thought was in her head, there was no getting it out.

"So you think this is it, huh?" Lorelai asked. It was three days later and Rory had just finished telling her mother about her suspicions over Logan involving the LDB in their engagement.

"How could it not be?" Rory asked as she leaned closer to the mirror to fix her eyeliner. "He brings up the LDB out of nowhere, he's been super sweet the last couple of days, and when I came home tonight, there was a dress laid out with instructions for me to dress for dinner, because we're meeting Finn and Rosemary. What else could it be?"

"You really think he'd turn your engagement into an LDB event?" Lorelai asked skeptically. "I mean, no offense Hon, but look how well his asking you in public did the last time. Would he set himself up like that again?"

Rory considered this. "You have a point," she conceded. "But what if he's just using them to help set things up? Maybe they won't be there during the actual proposal, but you know, behind the scenes?"

"I think you're stretching," Lorelai said finally. "But who knows, I've been wrong a couple of times before, you know."

"I don't know, I think this is it," Rory said confidently.

"What are you going to say when he asks?"

"Mom!"

"Well, it's a valid questions," Lorelai said defensively. "Again, look what happened before."

"I really wish people would stop bringing up the last time."

"Kind of hard to do when it happened so publicly," Lorelai said heartlessly. She drew in a long breath. "So seriously, Rory, what are you going to say when he asks?"

"I'm going to say yes."

At least she would have, if he had asked her that night. No, in reality the evening was exactly what he had told her it was going to be; dinner with Finn and Rosemary and a few people from Logan's office. A perfectly pleasant evening where Logan and Finn filled them in on the Life and Death Brigade alumni event that would be taking place in the summer.

And when they got home at the end of the night and Rory stormed upstairs to take a shower, locking Logan out, he was confused to say the least, but didn't want to push it. Instead, he waited until they were both in bed before he tried to ask what was wrong, but she brushed him off, saying everything was fine. The next morning she acted as though nothing had happened; making an elaborate breakfast for the two of them to thank him for the night out and the pretty new dress.

Because, she reasoned to herself. He was going to ask her any day now, no sense in getting mad it hadn't happened that night.

Oh yes, any day now.

* * *

><p>"What do you think?" Logan asked as he opened the front door and waited for her to walk in ahead of him. "Should we add that place to our list of favorites or was it just okay?"<p>

Rory shrugged. "It was okay, but seriously, singing waiters?"

"Yeah, I hadn't been expecting that either." Logan was surprised that while he headed for the stairs, Rory was making her way to the kitchen. "You can't be hungry already," he admonished her. "Three desserts, Rory. There were three desserts after that meal."

She made a face at him over her shoulder. "Water," she said simply. "You heading up to bed?"

He nodded. "You coming?"

"In a minute." He was satisfied with her answer and continued upstairs while she ducked into the kitchen. Standing in front of the sink, she stared out the window into the backyard as she waited for the water to run cold. Lights from the neighboring yards danced across their deck and cast shadows around the avocado tree.

He hadn't proposed. She had been there for nearly three months and he had yet to ask her to marry him. She grimaced as she realized she had another 'I told you so' phone call coming from Paris in the morning. She had been so sure this time, too. Even more sure than the last four date nights they had been on where she had been positive the proposal was coming.

Today he had come home from work and asked if she'd mind going out to dinner as opposed to staying in, saying he felt like celebrating. She had agreed, assuming that the work-related reason he had given her was merely to throw her off and she had, once again, put more time and consideration into getting ready than was really necessary. Turns out, he really had just wanted to celebrate a work success and she was left feeling foolish once again.

Finally, she headed up the stairs herself, turning the lights off as she went. She paused in the hallway just outside of their bedroom door for a moment and watched as he was getting ready for bed. His clothes already lay in a pile on the floor next to the open closet; a habit she hadn't been able to break him of yet, and he was in the bathroom, getting ready to brush his teeth. He winked at her through the mirror and she couldn't help but smile back as she kicked off her shoes and bent to pick up his clothes, deliberately putting them into the hamper. She paused by the dresser to remove her jewelry, dropping the necklace into its designated box before reaching up to take out her earrings. Logan's reflection frowned at her and she tilted her head to the side. "What's up?"

"You usually ask for help with your necklace," he said. "It's kind of one of my favorite parts of our bedtime routine." He frowned before spitting mouthwash into the sink. "Does it make you feel old that we have a bedtime routine?"

"Not as old as picking your clothes up off of the floor," she teased as she joined him in the other room. "Here." She twisted so he could reach her back. "I still can't reach the zipper on this dress, if that makes up for it." His left hand swept her hair over her shoulder and held it there while his right went for the zipper. She shivered as his fingers brushed the back of her neck before grasping the zipper and pulling it down. "Thanks," she said with a smile, holding the dress up with one arm as she went back to the dresser.

"Welcome." He caught her hand at the last moment and tugged lightly until she was back in front of him. She raised an eyebrow at him but didn't resist when he bent his head to hers and kissed her. "I really like that dress," he commented as he released her. "Is it new?"

"New-ish," she said with a nod. It was brand new, but she wasn't about to tell him it was the latest in her collection of "I thought I was getting engaged tonight" dresses.

"I like it," he said again. He exited the bathroom and gave her a swift pat to the backside as he passed by her. She rolled her eyes and went into the bathroom again, this time to rinse off her make up.

When she came out, fresh-faced and dressed in her pajamas, Logan was already in bed. She was a little surprised to see he had a few work files spread out on his side of the bed but she shrugged it off and made her way barefoot to her own side. She didn't miss the way his eyes slid over her bare legs as she tucked them under the blankets and gave him a look. "What?"

"Nothing," he said smiling. She rolled over onto her side to give him a disbelieving look. His eyes turned back to his paperwork and she just stared at him for a moment. Without looking up, he reached over and threaded a hand through her hair. "Something on your mind, Ace?"

She hesitated but shook her head and rolled back over to her side of the bed and picked up the book laying on the nightstand. "I had fun tonight," she said as she flipped through it, trying to find where she had last left off.

"I'm glad." He glanced at her sideways but she pretended to be too involved in her book to notice. "Hey." He waited until she looked up before pulling her to the center of the bed. "Are you sure you're okay? You're quiet tonight."

"You're working," she protested. "I didn't want to distract you."

"You lying in our bed and showing that much leg was going to be a distraction no matter what," he said as seriously as he could. She dug her elbow into his ribcage before settling back against him and picking up her book again.

She must have dozed off some time later because the next thing she knew, Logan was taking the book from her hands and pulling the duvet over them. He reached over to shut the lamp off and her eyes popped open.

"Why didn't you ask me to marry you?" She squeezed her eyes shut as the lamp clicked back on and sure enough, when she finally opened them again, he was staring at her as though she was insane.

"I.. What?" He sat up a little straighter in the bed and looked down at her as though she was crazy. "I did ask you, remember? You said no."

"Oh!" She sat up and reached behind her to grab her pillow before hitting him with it. "You know that's not what I meant! I mean now! Tonight! Last week, the week before that! I've been here for almost three months, Logan!"

He blinked. "Had we set a time limit?"

"No," she admitted. "But...you _do _still want to marry me, right?"

"More than anything," he said with a nod of his head. The corners of his mouth lifted. "Why Rory Gilmore, can it be that you're actually asking, no, _begging _me to ask you to marry me?"

She scowled. "You don't have to say it like that."

"Oh, but I do. Please, just give me a few seconds to enjoy the irony of this situation."

"Jerk!" She grabbed for her pillow again but he caught her wrists before she could swing it and they were both laughing when he finally pulled it from her grasp. He tossed the pillow to her side of the bed while holding her hands in one of his.

"Rory, I want to marry you," he said again. "And, I'd be lying if I said that right now the fact that you've been waiting so anxiously doesn't make me happy. It makes me happier than you can imagine. I haven't asked you yet because not too long ago we were fighting to get to this spot we're at right now. And that was a long battle, and I enjoy where we're at. I like the whole not fighting thing we've got going on, and I love that we're back living together. This is all I wanted." She opened her mouth to protest and he held up his hand. "For now. This is all I wanted for now."

She bit down on her lower lip. "You're afraid I'm still going to bail, aren't you?"

"I was," he agreed. "At first. I don't think that anymore. Haven't for awhile now."

"But then why haven't-"

"Because I promised you an ending made of storytelling gold," he reminded her.

"Logan, you know I don't care about any of that." She began to protest but he cut her off again.

"Oh really?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. He sighed at her defiant nod. "Okay then, fine. Here's the truth. I have a ring for you. It's in this house right now. Should I just go get it and we'll be done with this whole proposal thing?" She didn't say anything so he tossed the blankets aside and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

"Logan, wait." She caught his arm and stopped him from getting up.

He smiled triumphantly before turning the lamp off again. "It's okay to admit it matters a little bit," he said, tapping her on the nose.

"It matters," she grumbled, letting him pull her into an embrace. They were both smiling as he pulled back from the kiss and pushed her bangs out of her eyes.

"You're damn right it matters," he shot back playfully. "I don't do anything half-assed, you really should know that by now."

She frowned and ran her thumb over his jawline. "You know I don't _need _or even expect some huge thing, right?"

"I know." He bent down and kissed her again. "But don't forget, I have a reputation to uphold." She laughed into his mouth and didn't fight as his hands moved to the drawstring on her shorts. Seconds later they were kicked off somewhere near the end of the bed, joined quickly by his before he rolled her underneath him and slid his hands back down the length of her body.

They had just established a steady rhythm between them when her eyes went wide and she scrambled to get out from underneath him. He sucked in a sharp breath and held her down by her arms, trying to keep both of them from getting hurt. "What?" he ground out through clenched teeth.

"I've searched every square inch of this house for that ring!" she exclaimed. "Where could you possibly have hidden it?"

He stared down at her, speechless as he tried to catch his breath. "Seriously? That's what you're thinking of at this very second?" He pushed back into her gently to prove his point.

Rory, to her credit, had the grace to let a look of shame wash over her face before she smiled wickedly up at him and wound her arms around his neck, pulling him down closer. "It won't happen again," she murmured into his throat as her legs wrapped around his waist.

But seriously, she had searched every possible spot in that house.

* * *

><p>"Good morning!" Violet craned her neck to get a better view of Rory's still ringless hand. "Still nothing?"<p>

"Still nothing," Rory said with an eyeroll. "And I still can't find the damn thing!" It had been two weeks since Logan had admitted the ring was in the house but it still wasn't on her finger. "I have to tell you, Vi, I'm getting a little nervous. What could he possibly be planning?"

"Nothing!" Violet scoffed. "He's a man. I guarantee he hasn't planned a thing yet and is just stringing you along until he does come up with something."

"Maybe." Rory shrugged but was confident that wasn't the case. She yawned and settled herself into the make up chair. Last week, Violet had called her in a panic, saying that her mid-morning show's co-host had ran off for parts unknown with no notice and was there any way Rory could possibly fill in for a few days until either Rachel came back or was replaced permanently.

To slide back into morning talk show habits had been terrifying to say the least, but she had worked with Violet before, and after the first half of the first show was over, Rory had found herself completely at ease in front of the cameras again and was again, debating whether or not what direction to take her career.

She had submitted several different pieces to Mitchum over the last couple of weeks and was waiting as patiently as she could to hear back but the truth was, she was going crazier each day she had to spend in that house without actually working. When Violet had called her she hadn't even thought twice about filling in and so far, she was loving every second of it. It was more Kathy Lee and Hoda than it was informative news, but she was okay with that. If anything, she was at least broadening her skillset and maybe that would work in her favor.

The audience had fallen in love with her, if she was to believe the social media commentary Logan would read to her as she got ready for bed each night. She just laughed it off, teased him that he was jealous and reminded him that it wasn't permanent. Secretly though, she was happy with all of it.

Logan had noticed it too. Never in a million years would he have guessed that Rory would thrive in television, but each morning she was proving him wrong.

"So what are we talking about today?" Rory asked, turning her attention back to Violet.

Violet just laughed, but had the presence of mind to look repentant. "This show was in the works before you came on board, I want you to remember that. And also, that Rachel had just gotten engaged three weeks before and had shared the news with the audience, so..."

"What?" Rory rolled her eyes as she scanned the sheet of paper in her hand. "Oh you have got to be kidding me! Planning the perfect wedding? Logan's going to think I planned this!"

"I'm sorry!" Violent held up her hands in defense. "I swear, I didn't even remember this show was coming up. But seriously, we can have a lot of fun with it if we play it right. Who knows? Maybe Logan will get some ideas from the guest we have booked."

"Great." Rory just shook her head and continued reading over the notes. As their make-up was being finished they chatted about ideas for that day's show and gossipped over Rachel, whom Violet had heard had eloped with her fiance and had no plans of coming back anytime soon.

Before she knew it, they were well into their third commercial break and the show was going as well as it could, even with the last minute changes of not being able to talk to Rachel about her upcoming wedding planning.

After the break, their next guest was a well-known blogger who had been chronicling her relationship from the first date right through the proposal and was now detailing all of the wedding planning for her ceremony, which was two months away. They had moved to the studio kitchenette, as Cherie was about to show them how to prepare the meal she was convinced had led her fiance to propose to her in the first place.

"Rory, are you taking notes?" Violet teased as Cherie began mixing things. She then explained cheerfully to the crowd how Rory had been with her boyfriend off and on for about five years now and how there had been talk of a wedding in their future.

"Off and on, been there," Cherie commiserated, handing Rory a glass of wine. Who cared if it was only 11:30 in the morning, Violet was never one to turn down a glass of wine, and they had decided it was an important step to cooking this dinner.

"Well, we're definitely more on now than off," Rory said lightly. "In fact, it was at Vi's wedding that we reconnected and well," she took a sip out of her glass. "Now I'm just waiting until he shows me the ring."

"Honey, we're all waiting," Violet assured her as she chopped up the handful of vegetables Cherie had assigned her. "Rory and her boyfriend have this whole William and Kate thing going on. We all know it's meant to happen, it's just a matter of when."

"Waiting's the hardest part," Cherie agreed as she tossed some onions into a skillet and stepped aside as they sizzled. "It took Stuart almost four days to propose after we talked about getting married."

Violet snickered. "Four days! Rory's been waiting, what? At least 4 months now, right?"

"It hasn't been that long," Rory protested with a shake of her head. "It's been a few months, but really, it's fine! The waiting is hard, yes, but if you ever met my mother, you'd understand. Gilmore's are not a patient breed of people and we hate surprises." As the word _suprises_left her mouth, she saw something shiny flash out of the corner of her eye. She blinked and turned her attention back to Cherie who was explaining how to make the base for her pasta sauce but a few seconds later, she saw the flash again and this time there was noise behind it. She was in the middle of asking Cherie another question when she glanced back over her shoulder dismissively, only to do a double-take and completely forget what she had been saying.

Two of the stagehands were wheeling a platform onto the stage next to them, and on that platform was a statue of a suit of armor, except... she squinted. It wasn't a statue at all.

It _was _Henry!

One of yesterday's topics of conversation had been about buyer's remorse and Rory had spent some time talking about when she moved into Logan's apartment the thing that had freaked her out the most was his suit of armor. Henry was still in storage, but since it had become kind of a running joke between the two of them and how she had kind of wished she had agreed to let him move it into their house now.

And now, Henry was being wheeled right in her direction. One of the arms was bent with the palm of a glove facing up, cradling a small box. _Coincidence, my ass_, she thought to herself as she looked at Violet suspiciously. Violet, the rat, just shrugged innocently.

"So, what's going on here?" she asked cautiously, wiping her hands on the towel that lay on the counter. Remembering that the cameras were rolling - _oh my god, the cameras are rolling, this is live television! - _Rory took a deep breath and faced camera one as she walked toward the platform. "If you were watching yesterday, you remember me talking about my boyfriend's most idiotic purchase ever, his suit of armor. Well this." She gestured to the suit of armor. "This is Henry. With a gift for me?" She reached to take the box from the upturned hand and was so startled when the hand dropped that she shrieked, much to the delight of Violet and the sound guys. "This is _not _Henry!" she gasped, her hand pressed into her chest.

Much to her surprise, the suit of armor moved again, this time reaching up with the empty hand to lift the headplate. Logan's eyes peered out at her and she gasped again before she could stop herself. She should not have been as shocked as she was.

"What are you doing?" she cried as he dropped down to one knee.

Logan laughed gently and craned his head to look past her over to Violet. "She's a little slow in the morning, isn't she?" He turned back to her, reaching for both of her hands. "I promised you storytelling gold," he reminded her again. "And I can't think of a better ending than this, can you?"

"Is this really happening?" she asked, still not entirely believing it was. "You're really doing this?"

"I really am," he confirmed as he held out the ring again. "So how about it, Rory?"

She sucked in a deep breath and waited for what seemed like forever as he waited to ask her.

"Will you marry me?"


End file.
